Ask Phoebe: Panel a pain in drivers' neck

This billboard blocks the view of motorists trying to get from Waikumete Cemetery onto Great North Rd. Photo / Paul Estcourt

In the past year or so a bus shelter has been installed outside Waikumete Cemetery on Great North Rd. This is great, because it means bus patrons don't have to stagger up Waikumete Hill to the next nearest one. However, the bus shelter is a headache for motorists leaving the cemetery because of the advertising panel on the western side of the shelter, which blocks the view of oncoming traffic. There is no advertising on the downside of the shelter, which is nice for bus passengers, as they can see their bus approaching. Either the advertising needs to come off, or the bus shelter moved to the other side of the cemetery exit. I hope something is done before there is an accident. Kaylene Jackson, Auckland.

The bus shelter isn't going anywhere any time soon, and nor is the advertising.

Waitakere City Council says the site of the bus shelter was approved by the New Lynn Community Board on the recommendation of traffic engineers.

The recommendation included a safety analysis, which found no problems, and so far there haven't been any accidents.

But Ms Jackson makes a good point. By all means leave the bus shelter there, but the advertising panel should go, so that cars don't have to nose out on to Great North Rd to see approaching traffic and risk being hit.

In Albany the right turn into Rosedale Rd from East Coast Rd in peak morning traffic often creates a long tailback that interferes with other traffic. There seem to have been ongoing experiments with phasing here. The oncoming traffic is relatively thin at this time, and it would seem reasonable to fade the red arrow out so that right-turners can do so once the road is clear, rather than sit in a queue unable to turn across an empty road because of the red arrow. This option hasn't been trialled as far as I know, and it works well just along the road for traffic travelling in the opposite direction, at the right turn into Sunrise Ave from East Coast Rd. Jacqui Hielkema, Murrays Bay.

North Shore City Council traffic engineer Mathew Hoyle says that lights were installed here because of the high number of turning accidents.

Since then, the accident rate has improved, even with relatively high speeds because of the downhill approach to the intersection.

As the council sees it, there is a danger that if the red arrow is removed, motorists could be encouraged to speed to the intersection to beat the oncoming traffic, which is not a desirable outcome.

Although it might seem the right turn into East Coast Rd from Sunrise Ave works, the council has plans to review this intersection. Currently right-turning traffic blocks through traffic and reduces northbound capacity to one lane.

There are plans to widen East Coast Rd to provide a separately signalled dedicated right-turn bay into Sunrise as well as two northbound through lanes.

This will be part of the whole East Coast Rd upgrade between Hastings Rd and Rosedale Rd.

You take your car for a warrant of fitness check before the current warrant's expiry date. The testing station finds a problem and doesn't issue a new certificate. Although you intend getting the fault fixed before the current certificate expires, can you still legally drive your car or is it deemed to be unroadworthy and therefore should it be kept off the road? Ian Vaudrey, Auckland.

The late Land Transport Safety Authority, now part of NZ Transport Agency, says on its website that if your vehicle fails its WoF inspection and your old WoF has expired, you are not allowed to drive the vehicle on the road unless it is for the purpose of having the problems fixed and obtaining a new WoF, provided it is safe to do so.

This implies, to me at least, that if you fail your warrant but the old one is still current, you can drive the vehicle, so long as it is safe to do so. But I'm happy to take advice on this.