Sign In / Register
New speed cameras have been installed at two sites along Matakana Road purely to slow traffic down and prevent deaths and serious injuries, not because of previous crashes or to raise revenue, according to Waka Kotahi.
Project sponsor David Strong told a Rodney Local Board workshop that the point-to-point cameras that will capture drivers’ average speed between 297 and 789 Matakana Road were among the first to be installed as part of a national safety camera expansion programme.
He said New Zealand was in the bottom third of OECD countries on a road deaths per capita basis and had among the lowest demerit points and penalties for speeding.
“We have a sense of entitlement about driving on our roads,” he said. “And Rodney does have the highest number of deaths and serious injuries in the Auckland region.”
Member Geoff Upson, who campaigned on keeping speed limits at 100km/h, said very few deaths were caused by speeding alone.
Strong agreed, but said it was the effects of speed that were the concern – put simply, the faster a vehicle was travelling, the worse the injuries people sustained during a collision.
“We need to stop talking about just death – death is horrible, we all have family members or friends who have died on our roads. Let’s also talk about injuries – the numbers are really high and speed is a factor in a lot of those,” he said.
“It’s the degree of severity, the need to bring down impact speeds and increase your chance of survival.”
He said average speed cameras could reduce deaths and serious injuries by 48 per cent – a 28 per cent better result than fixed spot cameras. Strong said the camera rollout coincided with Waka Kotahi taking over speed camera enforcement from police next July, though police would continue to issue roadside speed fines, and penalties would not change.
He said the big difference would be that, whereas police focused on roads where accidents had already occurred, Waka Kotahi looked more at prevention.
“We consider not what’s happened, but say let’s try to prevent it happening in the first place,” he said. “These safety cameras are very much a preventative measure.”
When asked by board member Ivan Wagstaff why the particular stretch of Matakana Road, between Clayden and Smith Roads, was chosen for the new cameras, Strong said there were a number of factors, including how badly injured people were likely to be if they went off the road there.
According to Waka Kotahi’s safety cameras assessment report, the road also met a list of physical site requirements for siting such cameras, including line of sight, road geometry and site accessibility.
Waka Kotahi turned down an information request for the cost of installing the cameras, including concrete pads, barriers, a retaining wall and traffic management, saying that as the safety camera project was still in progress, with many more to be installed, releasing costs was likely to “prejudice commercial negotiations between Waka Kotahi and its contractors, as well as reduce the competitiveness of future tenders”.
