Driving instructor joins Hume speed push

The debate over the highway's speed limit has been reignited after outgoing NRMA Western NSW director Graham Blight came out in support of raising the speed limit on the highway on Monday.

Riverina Driving Academy owner Robert Buckley believes the push is a good idea, pointing to the presence of 130km/h stretches of highway in the Northern Territory - of lower quality than the dual-carriageway Hume - with low fatality rates.

"I think the road can handle it," he said.

"It's a dual highway from Sydney to Melbourne now."

The issue for Mr Buckley isn't speed, but drivers concentrating on the road without succumbing to the gamut of distractions in present-day cars - from screaming children in the back to mobile phones and DVD players.

"You're going to have people who don't focus on what they're doing," he said.

"The cars can handle (130km/h), the roads can handle it."

The only problem Mr Buckley can see is the disparity that will be created between provisional and full licence drivers should the speed limit be raised.

P1 Provisional drivers are limited to a maximum speed of 90km/h, which would be 40km/h below the signposted limit if it were to be increased.

A former road safety manager for NSW's Western region, Lex Stewart, is also backing a 130km/h limit for the Hume Highway.

During his tenure at the then-Roads and Traffic Authority, Mr Stewart said he was responsible for upping the Newell Highway's speed limit to 110km/h in 1992, and when that happened, "the road toll didn't go up and civilisation didn't end".

So long as it was done with care, Mr Stewart sees no problem with raising the Hume's speed limit.

"You're never going to get a world without horror plane, train or car smashes," he said.

"My professional assessment is that it could be safely done."