New driving regulations not making Muriwai Beach any safer - lifeguard

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

A council permit system has done little to improve vehicle safety on Auckland's Muriwai Beach, lifeguards say.

The occupants of a four-wheel drive that rolled on Auckland's Muriwai Beach on Sunday were 'very lucky' to escape with minor injuries, police say.

Senior Sergeant Jason Homan of Rodney Police said early indications were that the vehicle had hit a patch of soft sand while turning, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to roll.

In September 2015 four people were killed in a similar incident on the west coast beach when their four-wheel-drive rolled at high speed.

Homan said speed was the most important factor in all crashes, and particularly vehicle accidents at Muriwai.

'A large amount of crashes on the beach are speed related where drivers turn the steering wheel to turn and the wheels dig into the soft sand causing the driver to lose control and subsequently roll or flip,' he said.

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](http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/nor-west-news/72030543/Muriwai-4WD-tragedy-reveals-dangerous-driving-on-beach)**'Excessive speed leads to loss of control. It's the difference between no injury, serious injury or death and I strongly urge people who are driving on the beach to keep this in mind and make the right decision to lower their speed and drive to the conditions.'

Creeks and logs on the beach also posed serious hazards to speeding drivers. Homan said people needed to realise Muriwai Beach was classed as a road and therefore road rules applied.

'Basically a large majority of the accidents which occur on Muriwai are preventable and are caused by people not driving to the posted speed limit and conditions,' Homan said.

Rodney Police had dedicated staff at Muriwai during the summer months and would be on the lookout for anyone driving dangerously on the beach.

'People engaging in dangerous acts, doing skids or driving at high speeds are not only putting their own lives at risk but also the large amount of people who use the beach and can expect to be dealt with accordingly and possibly have their vehicle impounded,' Homan said.

'I think it is also important to say we will be thanking people for their good driving too as we want people to enjoy this great beach, just obey the rules and drive to the conditions.'

Homan encouraged anyone driving on the beach to familiarise themselves with the rules, which could be found on the Auckland Council website. If anyone was concerned about a driver they could call *555 and let police know.

Auckland Council introduced a new system requiring anyone four-wheel driving on Muriwai or Karioitahi beaches to have a permit at the start of September 2015.

However, a local lifeguard says the permit system has had no impact on 'damn scary' driving on the beach.

Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service president Tim Jago said the new regulations were 'fairly toothless' and people were still driving dangerously on the beach.

'Our view of the world is that it's had negligible impact,' he said.

Jago said the number of vehicles on the beach had 'increased exponentially' in recent years.

The problems came from a minority of people treating the beach like a 'highway', driving well above the speed limit of 30kph, he said. The drivers scared the horses of people riding on the beach, as well as crashing into fishing equipment. Some were even going up into sand dunes, eroding them and risking hitting children playing in the dunes.

Their behaviour was putting some locals off using the beach, Jago said.

'What the locals are saying is the arrogance and ignorance of these drivers is damn scary.'

Auckland Council has issued over 4100 permits since 1 September 2015 to drive on Muriwai or Karioitahi beaches. The permits are free and valid for one year.

To apply for a permit, drivers have to read over the rules for driving on Muriwai or Karioitahi. These include slowing down around people and animals, keeping off dunes, and having headlights on.

Auckland Council Bylaws and Compliance Central team leader Adrian Wilson said the way the permit system made drivers familiar with the regulations was a 'major benefit'. But it was too soon to say whether it would be enough to curb dangerous driving.

'The permit system was only recently introduced and therefore it's difficult to say whether any further measures will be required. The large take up of drivers obtaining a permit shows people want to be compliant and act responsibly,' he said.

He said there had been no reported incidents of people driving on the beaches without a permit since the system was introduced.

If someone was caught driving without a permit, or were reported for misusing the beach, they could be prosecuted under the Public Safety and Nuisance bylaw and fined.