Road expert says lowering speed limit on Napier-Taupō Road will save lives
Monday, 10 May 2021
An international roading expert says lowering the speed limit on one of New Zealand’s most dangerous highways will have huge safety benefits.
New speed limits are being proposed on a section of the Napier Taupō Road (State Highway 5) with public consultation extended by four weeks by Waka Kotahi – New Zealand Transport Agency.
Global Road Safety Partnership chief executive officer Dave Cliff said lowering the speed limit to 80kph from 100kph on the Napier Taupō would see fatalities decrease by 40 per cent and injuries nearly 20 per cent.
“The trauma reduction will be substantial,” Cliff said.
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The road safety partnership is a hosted programme within the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and is based in Geneva. It focuses on the reduction of road death and injury, especially in low and middle-income countries.
NZTA figures showed that between 2010 and 2019, 16 people were killed in crashes on SH5 and another 75 people were seriously injured.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said since 2014, there had been more than 250 crashes reported between Eskdale and Tarawera, ranging from fatalities to non-injury.
Cliff said the only roads capable of safely operating at 100kph were median-divided motorways, designed with barriers to prevent vehicles crossing to the wrong side of the road.
“Seventy per cent of New Zealand’s fatal collisions occur on the rural road network and reducing road trauma demands bold action that follows the ‘science’.”
Cliff said road trauma costs New Zealand more than $4 billion a year and represented an “enormous burden” on the health system.
“It is entirely preventable. Preventing the trauma demands a comprehensive ‘safe system’ strategy which includes setting safe speed limits and rigorously enforcing them.”
Cliff said speed penalties in New Zealand remained very low by international standards.
“A $30 fine for travelling at 10kph above the limit [is] too low to create effective deterrence. Speed penalties in New Zealand haven’t been increased since 1998.”
Cliff said before Covid-19 France reduced its barrier-free road speed limits from 90 to 80kph. The year after fatalities on those roads were reduced by over 400.
“The science is very clear, reducing the speed limit on the Napier-Taupō road and in fact all non-divided rural roads in New Zealand will prevent an enormous number of road deaths and injuries.”
Waka Kotahi’s consultation period was originally due to end in early May, but director of regional relationships Emma Speight said it had been extended to June 6.
“Consultation for any proposed speed limit change is about much more than asking if people are ‘for or against’ the proposal. It is about seeking valuable local and community input so that we can consider wider factors and context into our decisions,” Speight said.
“Safety is the top priority for Waka Kotahi. We want everyone who uses our roads to get to where they’re going safely. That’s why we are proposing to introduce safer speed limits, alongside safety improvements.”