Northland needs road investment, not speed reduction to fix poor crash rate, councillors say

Wednesday, 5 June 2019

Speed limits are too high on the majority of New Zealand roads, the NZ Transport Agency says. (Video first published in June 2019)

Northland councillors want more investment in roads, rather than reductions in speed limits, to help turn around the worst road crash statistics in the country.

Road safety data from NZ Transport Agency's (NZTA) MegaMaps tool suggested speed limits were too high on almost 90 per cent of the country's roads and should be drastically reduced.

As a first step, NZTA wants to drop speed limits on the worst 10 per cent of roads.

Crashes on Northland roads are a familiar sight but councillors are wary of blanket speed reductions.

In Northland, it is proposing to cut the speed limit from 100kmh to 80kmh at three Far North areas: State Highway 10 between Awanui and Kaingaroa, State Highway 1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa, and State Highway 11 between Haruru Falls and Puketona.

**READ MORE:

Northland Regional Transport Committee chairman John Bain, pictured with road policing manager Inspector Wayne Ewers, says lower speed limits will impact Northland's economy.

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* 80kmh speed limit 'like sticking plaster on disaster' highway south of [Whangārei

Whangārei councillor Greg Martin says roads should be upgraded if they cannot be driven at their current speed limit.

](https://www.stuff.co.nz/northland/112326812/80kmh-speed-limit-like-sticking-plaster-on-disaster-highway-south-of-whangrei)* Northland motorists lament lack of State Highway 1 progress in 'forgotten north'

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But councillors at the Northland Regional Transport Committee meeting in Whangārei on Wednesday were not in support of blanket speed reductions, saying slower speeds could impact the region's economy.

Northland regional councillor and committee chairman John Bain said lower speed limits would impact tourism and stop people coming to the region on holiday.

He was concerned the four-lane highway on State highway 1 between Te Hana and Whangārei was on hold, awaiting funding to be confirmed.

'Northland is being set aside again,' Bain said. 'I'm deeply concerned that lower speed limits are seen as a way of fixing our roads, when a better level of service would be better.'

Whangārei District Councillor Greg Martin agreed, saying cutting speed limits was not a fix.

'If the road is not safe at the speed limit it is, what we used to do is upgrade the road. Now all we're doing in Northland is, once again, getting a second-rate service.'

A recent speed reduction on SH1 south of Whangārei was met with disapproval from residents, who called it a 'sticky plaster on a disaster'.

But NZTA spokeswoman Jacqui Hori-Hoult said the agency would consult on plans with the community.

'This is the first step in trying to reduce our deaths and serious injuries,' she said.

Northland has the worst crash statistics in the country, according to statistics presented to the meeting.

In the five years from 2014 to 2018, there were 143 fatalities and 739 serious injuries on Northland roads.

When broken down into figures per 100,000 population, Northland's figures were the worst in the country - at times more than twice as high as the national average.

Bain said the figures were 'horrifying' and made it not nice to drive in Northland.

KEY CRASH STATISTICS

* Fatal or serious injury crashes per 100,000: Northland 78; national average 57

* People killed in road crashes per 100,00: Northland 20, national average 7.9

* People hospitalised more than a day per 100,000: Northland 120, national average 71

* Deaths or serious crashes with positive alcohol test per 100,000: Northland 19, national average 7