Senior Sergeant Greg Brown says the inconvenience of losing a few seconds while travelling slower on rural roads is nothing comparedwith being "robbed" of the time needed to react in an emergency. Photo / File
Senior Sergeant Greg Brown says the inconvenience of losing a few seconds while travelling slower on rural roads is nothing comparedwith being "robbed" of the time needed to react in an emergency. Photo / File
Napier City Council is reviewing some speed limits in a process bound to revive a debate that raged in Hastings last year over a similar review. We look at the vexed issue of speed restrictions and examine why some people do not want to be told to slow down while others see lower limits as a life-saving necessity.
Local authorities tinker with the speed limits on their roads at their peril - as Hastings District Council found out last year.
The council's plan to introduce an 80km/h "safer speed zone" on open roads around the district deemed too dangerous to retain 100km/h status was met with howls of anger from frustrated motorists who accused it of stealing their time.
On the other hand, safety campaigners and others praised the idea as a life-saving initiative in a district where carnage and death is too often seen on rural and semi-rural roads.
The 100km/h signs went back up on some roads this year after a second round of consultation over the speed limit issue led to councillors voting to back down on some of the earlier speed reductions they had supported in early 2014.
That followed an initial consultation process spanning late 2013 and early 2014 which the council later admitted was probably not ideal in terms of public engagement because it was truncated by the Christmas holiday period.
While the dust has hardly settled on Hastings' bumpy journey down "Speed Review Road", neighbouring Napier City Council has embarked on its own trip into similarly contentious territory.
But with only four specific spots up for review and consultation, Napier Mayor Bill Dalton says his council hardly has its pedal to the metal in the same kind of "shotgun approach" regime change Hastings tried to implement.
"This is just for specific areas where it makes sense," Mr Dalton says. "They're not commuting routes or arterial routes, they're simply areas predominantly where residents and others have requested a speed limit reduction and we've just said that makes sense."
The mayor says he has received no negative feedback to the proposed speed limit changes which will require approval from the New Zealand Transport Agency, as well as going through a public consultation period so citizens get the chance to formally express their views.
The region's top traffic cop, acting road policing manager Senior Sergeant Greg Brown, says police welcome the Napier City Council review and are particularly supportive on the reduction proposed for Te Awa Avenue, a busy link road between Napier Boys High School and Awatoto.
The previously semi-rural avenue has become increasingly suburban as new subdivisions have been developed in the vicinity over recent years.
"Te Awa Ave is a specific road that police asked the council to review - you have a large new housing area yet a posted speed limit of 70km/h. An adult pedestrian or cyclist hit at 45km/h has a 50/50 chance of survival, for a child it is about 30km/h, yet people expect to travel to the speed limit."
Mr Brown says police welcome the Napier review of speed limits to ensure the current posted limits match the design and changing use of the area's roads.
"Prevention is always better than cure," he says. "Speed is the single biggest factor in determining the outcome of a crash. It is simple physics - our bodies are not designed to come to a sudden halt, say from 100km/h to zero."
While speed may be the biggest determinant of the harm a crash causes, it rates third-equal in terms of factors leading to smashes on Hawke's Bay roads, according to Transport Agency data. The agency found speed rated behind poor handling and poor observation, and equal with alcohol impairment, as the leading factor in the smashes that resulted in six deaths and 67 serious injuries on the region's roads in 2013.
Mr Brown says as a community, we need to change our belief around speed.
"For most it is about convenience and ease of commute. For those involved in picking up the pieces the few seconds or minutes saved by travelling quicker is not worth someone's life. We make the mistake of thinking that because it doesn't (thankfully) happen to us very often, that the speed limit is okay," he says.
"But the roadside hazards that are there are not relevant until your vehicle unexpectedly leaves the main roadway. Then they are hugely significant. They are often what will result in you surviving or dying. Statistically, the faster you travel the more likely you are to be involved in a crash."
Mr Brown accepts that a "small number of people" will raise concerns at the proposals to reduce speed limits in Napier "because they individually are being inconvenienced by a few seconds or minutes".
"We saw with the Hastings District Council speed limits, the simple facts are some of our roads are not designed for the current speed limit. To fix these issues will take a lot of money, so it is much easier to reduce speed for the safety of all."
He said police "remain disappointed" at the outcome of the Hastings review.
"There are roads now that have 100km/h limits and they are simply not up to those limits," he says.
"There was a lot of concern about the Waimarama Road section of the 80km/h zones. In January this year we had a fatal crash, most likely the result of fatigue. One person died after hitting a tree. The road was then 80km/h, and we always said it reduced the risk, but 80km/h crashes are still 50/50 situations when it comes to survivability.
"If the vehicle had been travelling at 100km/h the two passengers would likely have died as well, and the vehicle travelling in the opposite direction could easily have had a worse outcome. If you talk to the occupants, they were simply having a nice day out at the beach but a mistake ended in the worst possible outcome.
"Prior to the crash I am sure they wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with the road."
While opponents of lower speed limits argue they amount to the council stealing their time by making them spend longer on the road, Mr Brown says drivers travelling faster are "robbed" of time in a more crucial way - they lose the ability to react and stop safely when something goes wrong.
"Speed also determines the forces your body will go through if you are unlucky to be involved in a crash. There are four words a survivor will always mention: 'It happened so quick'.
"Split seconds can make the difference, so lowering your speed will always result in a better outcome."
Noise, speeding and crashes back
Yo-yo changes to the speed limit on Farndon Rd affected residents whose shortlived peace and quiet was shattered with the return to 100km.
Emergency Services at the scene of a crash on Farndon Rd - one of many accidents on the 100km/h stretch over the years. Photo / Glenn Taylor
On March 17 last year Hastings District Council changed Farndon Rd signage from 100km/h to 80km/h, from a point 500m west of its intersection with State Highway 2 to its intersection with Pakowhai Rd.
However, public feedback from a submission undertaken later in the year saw original signs reinstated from February 2015.
Since then, there had been a notable change in both road noise and an increase in people "hooning" along the stretch.
A woman, who only wanted to be known as Daphne, said although signs said 100km/h people were pushing boundaries by 10km/h or more.
"While I didn't agree with the lower limit on some of the rural stretches with less driveways, it was good here. This is a busy place, there are a lot of school buses and people pulling out."
Daphne had contacted the council multiple times following road works which left a dip in the tarmac that wasn't there before.
"The trucks come over that and it's a big bang, it's loud alright." Her most concerning observation was a handful of recent crashes, after a lull period which coincided with enforcement of the minimised limit.
A car in the ditch and another that hit a power pole were two she could recall from past weeks.
"Problem is those ditches are unforgiving, especially if you hit the edge at 100km/h."
In 2007, Paul Allen Bennett, 37, died after his car left the road at the Pakowhai Rd and Farndon Rd intersection. There had been many more minor incidents over the years, according to a resident who lived near the junction.
"When it went down to 80km/h it was amazing because the trucks and the cars come past here at a far greater speed, so when it came down that was a lot less, there was less noise too," she says.
"It's the speed mostly, they come off Pakowhai Rd, the sign says 100km/h shortly afterwards - they pick up the pace then there's a bend and that's where people come off the road."
She had witnessed about three vehicles end up in the ditch and heard of about seven in the six years she and her husband had been there. "We have seen it a fair few times alright".
Speedsters were less likely to even take the road with a lower limit, meaning less traffic bypassing their home, something which made pulling out of the driveway much safer.
"People can not back out of our driveway, it's not safe, we get them to come in and turn around." Audible road noise was particularly noticeable when outside and meant they often, "couldn't hear each other speak".
Napier to review speed limits
A proposal to lower speed limits from 100km/h to 70km/h on some Napier roads was put before the council last week.
The council has received several requests from members of the public in the past six months to review the speed limits posted on several of the city's streets, Napier Mayor Bill Dalton says.
Mayor of Napier Bill Dalton.
The council had decided to go ahead with the application for the review.
It is now awaiting government approval and will soon go out for public consultation.
Hastings went through a similar process in 2013 looking at 78km of roads deemed dangerous hot spots, with regular serious crashes. A number of roads had their speed limits cut to 80km/h.
However, many Bay drivers were outraged with the lower speed limit and forced the council to hold a second round of consultation and two days of hearings, resulting in the return of the old 100km/h limit to most roads.
Mr Dalton was not concerned about a public outcry as the review is for "straight safety" purposes as opposed to a "blanket reduction" as Hastings did.
Hawke's Bay Combined Taxis manager John Hart is in favour of the change.
"It makes sense to me, Prebensen has become an important access point to Onekawa and Pandora so it's logical to reduce the limit. Prebensen does not have many long stretches of road and it is quite accident prone."
Mr Hart said his staff would be quite happy about the changes and it would not make much difference to their work.
"It will make roads safer for everyone, which is a good thing," he said.
Emmerson central southern operating manager Kerry Hughes agreed, saying it would not affect the transport company. As long as it made roads safer the company would not oppose it.
Operations manager for PBT in Napier Peter Johnson said the reduction won't affect the trucking side of things so much but could have a "bang on" effect for the courier vans.
"The speed limit for trucks is 90km/h anyway and on a lot of the roads they don't have time to get to that speed."
Having to go slower in courier vans however, could cause delays.
The leading causes of crashes in Hawke's Bay in the six years to the end of 2014 were poor handling, poor observation, alcohol and speed.
Accident sites Sixty-one per cent of crashes occurred in rural speed zones, with the remainder in urban speed zones. Two-thirds of crashes happened on local roads, with the remainder on state highways.
Bay tragedies There have been 7 road deaths in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay this year. In 2014 there were 12 road deaths.
National toll Nationwide, there have been 178 road deaths this year. Nearly two-thirds of crashes occurred on local roads, with the remainder on state highways. Just over half occurred in rural speed zones, with the remainder in urban speed zones.
Speed zones Urban speed zones were roads where the speed limits were less than 80km/h. Rural speed zones were roads where the speed limit was 80km/h or more.
