Safe Roads - FAQs

Shouldn’t the focus be on drivers?

The driver is only one element of the Safe System and no matter how safe we make the system, people will always make mistakes. Safer roads reduce the consequences of these mistakes. Engineering treatments can help to prevent the number of crashes and minimise the severity of crashes that do occur.

What does this mean for the Roads of National Significance? Will this priority affect funding for them?

The Roads of National Significance have high traffic volumes and should have a high level of safety. Some of them already do, and for some, improvements have already been programmed. However, others lack safety features, such as a median barrier. Improving these and other high-risk high-volume rural roads will be a high priority for the strategy.  

Action – Focus safety improvements on high-risk rural roads, and focus safety improvements  on high-risk urban intersections

What safety improvements can be made on these roads?

Treatments for improving the safety of rural roads include skid resistant surfaces, a widened or sealed road shoulder, clear or protected roadsides, speed management, central medians, rumble strips and guard rails. Treatments for improving intersections include traffic control signals, roundabouts, advance stop boxes for cyclists, raised pedestrian crossings and speed management.

Do we already focus safety improvements on high-risk rural roads and urban intersections?

Yes, to a certain extent, but we can always improve the ways we target and treat these roads. The government has increased investment on state highways over the next 10 years. Safety features are an integral part of the planned improvements, however, there are still many opportunities to further improve the safety of our roads.

Both central and local government can look to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our existing safety management systems, safety audits, crash reduction studies, and so on.

More could be done to ensure that the treatments carried out on rural roads and at urban intersections specifically address factors that are more likely to lead to fatal and serious crashes.

How would we decide which rural roads or urban intersections to focus on?

The initial focus will be on high volume rural roads (carrying over 12,000 vehicles per day) which have a high crash risk. Some of these roads can be identified through the KiwiRAP initiative, which generates crash risk maps and soon-to-be-released safety ratings for State highways based on their road engineering features.

For urban intersections, local authorities will need to provide advice and data from the Crash Analysis System to identify crash risk, plus the likely cost-effectiveness of initiatives in high risk areas.

Where will the money come from if these proposals are progressed?

We will continue to invest in safety engineering treatments over the course of the strategy. This includes specifically targeted treatments as well as safety improvements that are part of general roading projects.

Funding for these projects will be considered along with other land transport activities as part of the National Land Transport Programme prioritisation process.

While road engineering treatments are costly compared to other road safety initiatives (in that they have high capital cost) their effectiveness is proven and the benefits are long lasting.

When will work start on the actions for improving roads?

In some high risk rural roads, the Roads of National Significance will be part of the Safer Journeys action to improve safety. In addition, the most recent National Land Transport Programme described projects that would work towards this goal.

Is it realistic to make all roads to the highest safety standards?

With New Zealand’s constraints such as topography, only very few of our high volume roads could be of a very high standard but many roads could still be improved. There are several factors to consider (such as traffic volume, the importance of the route) in deciding what safety improvements to make. It is the nature of road engineering that many incremental improvements improve the overall safety of the road network over time.  

Action – Change the give way rules for turning traffic

Since the launch of the strategy this action has been progressed with the NZ Transport Agency consulting on proposed changes to the give way rules.
Read about the proposed changes on the NZ Transport Agency website.   

Action – Implement targeted treatments on popular motorcycle routes

What treatments would you use to improve safety for motorcyclists?

This would involve treating parts of the road that can cause problems for motorcyclists. These include repairing potholes, corrugations, rough surfaces, gravel on corners and sharp curves. It also includes improving maintenance to regularly sweep and clear hazards such as loose gravel. Many of the measures carried out to address high risk rural roads and urban intersections will also help to improve safety for motorcyclists.

Action – Develop and support new approaches to safety on mixed-use urban arterials

What do you mean by ‘new approaches’?

It means rethinking the way we approach these roads to reflect their greater diversity and complexity, building on what still works well and trying new methods that have been successful abroad.

What is a demonstration project?

A demonstration project is where engineering approaches that have proven successful overseas can be trialled here to see if the same benefits are obtained.

Would the so-called demonstration projects for urban arterials work?

Evidence from overseas shows they have been successful. For example in the United Kingdom one series of demonstration projects delivered on average a 46 percent reduction in casualties. They also increased public transport, walking and cycling use and reduced congestion. New approaches are needed especially in Auckland where there are space constraints, or where it would be inappropriate to widen the roads by encroaching onto existing land uses. 

Action – Strengthen techniques to integrate safety into land-use planning

Will this increase costs for councils?

It should decrease their costs over time. A well-integrated development is generally more accessible, safe and attractive for all modes of transport. This initiative behoves them and other land use planners to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing techniques.

A subdivision planned with insufficient attention to accessibility and safety for its residents will inevitably be less safe than a well-planned one. Parents can perceive that it is unsafe to allow their children to walk and cycle. This would increase local road traffic. In addition, it is subsequently likely to need expensive retrofit treatments to improve it.