Letter of the Week: Improve the roads

I have always felt that our government put a lot of the blame and responsibility of accidents back on the people, preaching "Speed Kills, Don't Drink and Drive".
They spend millions each year enforcing this.
Speed and alcohol may be large contributors to the death toll, however the quality of NZ roads is very poor.
Someone needs to accept that human error can occur and look at ways to increase road safety.
A yellow line is not going to prevent an accident.
A good comparison would be the regulations required when building a deck.
The council ensures safety rails are built to a certain standard to prevent people falling over the edge.
I guess a yellow line and a sign saying BE CAREFUL is insufficient for a deck, yet it is more than okay for our roads that have vehicles travelling at 100km/h in the opposite direction.
It seems there is a major double standard here.
Perhaps if the government took some responsibility of the poor road conditions and put some money into making them safer we could reduce the road toll. I know there would be a large cost involved but what is the price of human life?
Joel Murch, Papamoa

This week's letter will receive a complimentary Lotto ticket from Tauranga City Lotto shop, 44 Grey St.