Gisborne’s orange cones under attack again

The cones pictured are in Childers Rd but they can also be readily seen in many other locations. Photo / Paul Rickard

Road safety management may be costly but so too are the fines for employers who compromise standards at the cost of their staff.

The subject came up for debate at last week’s Gisborne District Council audit and risk committee meeting.

Councillor Rob Telfer said he was concerned up to 40 per cent of some roading project cost could be attributed to traffic management requirements.

He was receiving “huge” public feedback on traffic management issues.

Telfer said he had was not just talking the cost.

There appeared to be a belief that orange cones would solve all problems but they “in fact create a problem ... they almost glaze people over.”

Council health and safety manager David Wilkinson said the council worked closely with contractors.

The deaths of three roadworkers on the Matatā straight (in 2019) had raised the safety bar about safety and pragmatic road management.

Contractors had a primary care of duty to ensure staff were safe by complying with road traffic management obligations.

“We get to see if they go overboard with cones still up after sites are closed.”

The council worked closely with contractors to achieve the best result for the community for the cost involved, but not at the cost of safety.

Independent committee chairman Bruce Robertson said NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi was responsible for setting road management requirements.

Earlier, Telfer had said he had gone to WorkSafe but was unable to find out who was responsible.

Wilkinson said industry also had a huge role in the development of safety guidelines.

He said there had been two recorded “near misses” in the last six months involving contractors/staff because of poor driving by the public, who had driven through work sites and abused staff.

There were costly fines for unsafe work practices.

A company (Refrigafreighters) had been fined $300,000 for a lack of maintenance on a forklift, resulting in a serious injury to a staff member.

Safety had to be taken seriously but pragmatically, he said.