Deadly roads test for 110kmh limit

Monday, 2 November 2015

Flat, straight, double laned sections of the Waikato Expresswaywhich contain a median barrier and good shoulder space are candidates for a 110km speed limit.

Drivers could motor along the Waikato Expressway at 110 kilometres if road safety partners give it the tick in a new speed management pilot project.

A $175,000 project led by the Waikato Regional Transport Committee and funded by the NZ Transport Agency will see Waikato's 11,000 kilometres of roads analysed to test a new approach to speed management, which aims to reduce deaths on our roads and increase economic productivity.

The northern interchange on the Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway.

As well as recommending possible speed reductions, the project will investigate whether parts of the Waikato Expressway could be raised to 110km/h, if legislation were to allow it.

The project rolls out a new Draft Speed Management Guide, developed by the road safety sector, which states limits could rise past 100km/h on roads that meet certain criteria.

High speeds were reportedly a factor in this fatal Coromandel smash in April, which left one person dead and one critically injured.

'At the moment, there is no provision in law for limits above 100kmh, but the [guide] acknowledges this could be possible in the future, where we have modern, new stretches of road that include advanced safety features,' said project manager Junine Stewart.

A 110kmh limit has been considered for more than a year for motorways built as part of the Government's Roads of National Significance programme, which includes the expressway.

The speed management project aims to reduce the harm caused by crashes, work with communities to identify areas of high risk and concern 'and where we need to, think about adjusting speed limits,' Stewart said.

It is intended to be rolled out nationally.

Waikato has the highest road toll in the country out of any local government region in the country for the second year running. It equates to one person every five-and-a-half days.

To November 2 this year, 55 lives have been lost on roads over the region, which stretches from Coromandel to Raglan and down to Taupo.

Along with possible speed limit reviews, the project will assess whether changes to road markings, signage or education around certain roads are needed to improve safety.

It's too early to say yet where or what changes there will be, Stewart said, and the cost of any resulting changes is unknown.

Waikato has been picked as the pilot for the project, due to the high loss of life and the diversity of the region's roads, committee chairman Hugh Vercoe said.

'The Waikato has a diverse range of roads including rural, urban, through to very modern roads such as the Waikato Expressway.'

Speed was a factor in an average 30 per cent of national crashes from 2010-2014, according to Ministry of Transport figures.

Everyone agreed changes to our roads were needed, NZTA's national road safety director Ernst Zollner said.

'Too many people are getting hurt or dying on our roads. Not all roads are created equal and that's especially true in the Waikato.'

Inspector Freda Grace is the manager in charge of Waikato's road police district, which has seen 36 road deaths this year to November 1.

'It's absolutely imperative we take action [in response to our road toll]. One, it's the social cost and secondly there's the harm it does to the family and communities.'

Each death clocks up an estimated $3.98 million in social costs - which estimates loss of life and quality, loss of output, medical, property damage, legal and court costs.

The region's bill to November 2 this year is $219 million.

Grace, a member of the transport committee, believed the project could help to save lives down the line.

The project went beyond speed management to build a bigger picture of roads, taking into account condition, signage and corners, she said, which drivers needed to adopt when figuring out how fast to go.

'It's that whole package of understanding the environment you are in.'

NZTA and Waikato Regional Transport Committee representatives have visited the region's territorial authorities to brief them on the project.

Following a visit to Waitomo District Council, Waitomo Mayor Brian Hanna was hopeful the project would see some speeds drop on roads in his district, which includes the Awakino Gorge.

'Most of the trucks that tip over in there - there's one reason for it. You're going too quick. It should be 80kmh.

'When you think of how twisty a lot of our local roads are, you should never do 100kmh so why the 100kmh speed limit?

'But we've never had the ability to designate that because of the process, but they've freed that up now so this plan will be really good.'

The project will run through to the end of 2016. It is being supported by local councils, police, the Automobile Association and Ministry of Transport.

A draft project plan will be presented at the next Regional Transport Committee meeting at Waikato Regional Council on November 30.

The numbers

55: deaths on Waikato local government region's roads this year. The most recent tragedy claimed the life of a 27-year-old man after his car crashed off a one-way bridge at Whenuakite, on the Coromandel Peninsula on October 29.

11,290km: worth of roads in the Waikato

12 per cent: Waikato's share of the NZ roading network

$219 million: the combined social cost this year of Waikato road fatalities