Safer Journeys action plan - safe speeds FAQs

Do public campaigns really work?

Public campaigns help people to understand why it is important to manage their speed safely and how they can do it. Public campaigns can also contribute to the success of educational activities and enforcement. The evidence is also clear that public awareness of enforcement and acceptance of the relationships between speed and crashes can fall if not supported by public campaigns.

Does creating more speed limits mean limits will be lowered?

On roads where the blanket open road limit is not appropriate there may be a need for some sections to have a lower limit to better reflect conditions. These variations in limit would better reflect the design and safety features (or lack of them) than the open road limit.

Do too many speed limits confuse drivers?

They could do and it is for this reason that there are rules around the minimum length that speed limits can cover, and about providing extra signs when the speed limit is other than 50 and 100 km/h.

Our open roads are highly variable in quality but we only have one default speed limit, which is unsuitable for many roads (eg much of our State highway network is single lane undivided rural road).

Should we do other things as well as changing the speed limit, such as improve the road, make it self-explaining with features to make it clear to drivers what the appropriate speed should be, and teach drivers to drive to the conditions?

These are all tools that will be used.

Is setting speed limits really a role for central government? Shouldn’t it be decided by communities?

The setting of speed limits is the responsibility of road controlling authorities. The NZ Transport Agency, is responsible for speed limits on the State highway network and for all other roads the local council is the road controlling authority. Although communities are and will continue to be a key part of the decision making process, guidelines and processes are required to ensure some consistency.

Central government, through the NZ Transport Agency, is responsible for speed limits on the State highway network. For all other roads the local council is the road controlling authority and responsible for the setting of speed limits. Although communities are and will continue to be a key part of the decision making process, guidelines and processes are required to ensure some consistency.

What about speeds outside rural schools?

If you’re concerned about speeding on the road outside your school, you can request that your road controlling authority (council) review the traffic management arrangements in the school zone. This includes the use of variable speed limits at urban and rural schools.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has recently revised the conditions under which road controlling authorities may install 40km/h variable speed limits in school zones.

There are also a range of traffic management tools available to provide a safe environment outside schools, including:

• pedestrian crossings
• pick-up and set-down areas separated from through traffic
• permanent warning signs
• active signs, which operate only when there is school related activity on the road outside school
• 40km/h variable speed limits.

It is important to remember that at rural schools with high operating speeds, it is unlikely that motorists will slow to 40km/h in a short length of a school zone. To achieve compliance with a 40km/h speed limit it might be necessary to reduce the permanent speed limit near the school to 80km/h or less.

The NZ Transport Agency has a useful brochure on the subject called ‘Safe speeds around schools’

Do safety cameras really work?

Evidence shows speed cameras are very effective in reducing average travel speeds. Reducing average speed has a direct correlation to fewer fatal and serious injury crashes. Speed cameras are usually sited where speed is a significant factor in crashes or where there is an obvious road safety risk.

Safety cameras are cheaper to operate than manual detection methods and are largely automated. This frees up Police resources to focus on higher risk offending.

Why would more demerit points be a stronger deterrent than fines?

Demerit points can act as a stronger deterrent than fines as repeat offenders will face the loss of their drivers licence

How could you take a more flexible approach to penalties during high-risk periods?

We could double demerit points during public holiday periods when there is more traffic on the road. Doubling demerit points during public holiday periods has proven to be an effective way of reducing crashes in Western Australia. In addition, there has been continued strong public support for having this stronger penalty during these high-risk periods.

Isn’t speed enforcement just revenue gathering?

No. Speed is one of the main causes of road deaths and serious injuries. People who speed put their own lives and other peoples’ in danger. Enforcement acts as a deterrent to speeding.

If demerit points are applied to safety cameras, doesn’t that create issues if the driver is not the owner of the car?

A vehicle owner is ultimately responsible for who they allow to drive their car. It is important to note that the current system for safety camera fines is based on owner liability, and vehicle owners can be exempted from an infringement if they make a statutory declaration with the driver’s details. Other jurisdictions extend this to demerits, and this is an option we will consider as part of this action.