beyond the turnoff to Karratha, and ends further east at Great Northern Highway, out from Port Hedland. Apart from Whim Creek, between Roebourne and Port Hedland, roadhouses serving the highway are the only settlements on the long stretches of rangeland expanses between these towns. The highway provides access to tourist destinations including Shark Bay, Coral Bay, and Exmouth. North West Coastal Highway supports the diversified economies of the Mid West and Gascoyne regions, including mining, agriculture, fishing and tourism, transitioning to primarily mining, pastoral stations and offshore oil and gas production in the Pilbara. The entire highway is allocated National Route 1, part of Australia's Highway 1, and parts of the highway are included in the tourist routes Batavia Coast Tourist Way (Tourist Drive 354) and Cossack Tourist Way (Tourist Drive 351). The vast majority of the highway is a two-lane single carriageway with a speed limit of , except in and around built up areas where it drops down to . Main Roads Western Australia monitors traffic volume across the state's road network, including various locations along North West Coastal Highway. In the 2012/13 financial year, the recorded traffic volumes ranged from 13,350 vehicles per day west of Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road down to 370 north of Minilya–Exmouth Road. The highest percentage of heavy vehicles was 45.5%, west of Karratha Road. Reports commissioned by the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) in 2006 and 2008 gave most of the highway a four-star safety rating out of five, but with a significant proportion rated at a three-star level. The overall highway network was generally rated as three-star or four-star, with around 10% in 2006 and 5% in 2008 receiving a two-star rating. Geraldton to Carnarvon North West Coastal Highway commences at a diamond interchange at the northern end of Brand Highway. It heads east from the interchange and curves round to the north, past a traffic-light intersection with Geraldton–Mount Magnet Road. The highway continues north through Geraldton's outer suburbs for before the landscape transitions to scrubland. Between Geraldton and Carnarvon, the highway passes through remote and dry semi-desert areas. Apart from Northampton, out from Geraldton, the only settlements over this stretch are four roadhouses. Binnu Roadhouse is south of Kalbarri Road, the turnoff to Kalbarri; Billabong Roadhouse is south of the Shark Bay turnoff, where the Overlander Roadhouse is located; and the Wooramel Roadhouse is near the Wooramel River crossing.