Ask Phoebe: Signs will change once job is finished

Gillies Ave is Exit 431 because it is 431km from Cape Reinga. Photo / Richard Robinson

Q. SH18 between Albany and Hobsonville has been open for some time but the signs haven't changed. Coming from Glenfield, the (green) sign still directs you down the old route of Upper Harbour Drive to Greenhithe/Waitakere. When you arrive at the lights at Upper Harbour Drive, there is another sign also directing you to turn left. The 400m left-turn-only lane is still there, which is a waste of space. From these lights, there are no visible signs about the new motorway a couple of hundred metres ahead. On the motorway itself, the signs about the motorway beginning and ending are all wrong - they date back to when the motorway was half done. When is all this going to be fixed? Geoff Levick, Kumeu.

A. The Transport Agency intends to make changes to the signs at the start and end of the motorway at Greenhithe once the construction at Hobsonville is finished and connected with Greenhithe as part of the Western Ring Route. In the meantime, it feels the signs are in the right place.

The sign for drivers coming from Glenfield has been changed and the reference to SH18 removed. The Transport Agency is not responsible for the left-turning bay, but it understands there are no plans to remove it.

Q. Do you have to have your headlights on between dusk and dawn? I notice quite a few drivers without lights at that gloomy period around sun-down and sun-up. Can you be fined for this? Would it make sense to suggest to the motorway electronic signs guys that, when they have no other messages to display, they let motorists know when they should have their lights on and off? Jeremy Hall, Three Kings.

A. The Road Code states that you must (note: must) turn on your vehicle's headlights between 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise. At any other time, you must turn on your lights when you cannot clearly see a person or vehicle 100m away.

The use of the word 'must' indicates to me that there may be a penalty if you do not comply.

The use of message boards is, at first look, a good idea. However, it could be awkward when you consider the second condition, that of dim or murky weather, which is a more subjective thing. For example, I drove to work at 7.30am yesterday with my lights on, even though sunrise was at 7.18am, because it was wet and still dark, and although I could see, I wanted to be seen.

Q. What do the numbers on the motorway exit signs indicate? For example, in the Auckland region, Exit 458? Someone once said he thought it was the distance at that point from where SH1 starts at Cape Reinga? If so, how do exits in other parts of New Zealand fare? Lorna Clauson, Papakura.

That someone was correct - the numbers are based on the distance from the start of SH1 at Cape Reinga. Thus, your motorway exit, 458, at Papakura, is 458km from Cape Reinga.

The Northwestern (SH16) calculation begins at the Port of Auckland, and the Southwestern (SH20) begins at its intersection with SH1. There are some double-ups - e.g. there are two Exit 2s on different motorways, but the names are there to assist the confused.

When the authorities get round to numbering Wellington motorway exits - and I don't think they've started yet - they too will be numbered by the distance from Cape Reinga. Until then, Wellingtonians will just have to read the exit names.

In the South Island, the numbering will start at Bluff and head north. This hasn't begun yet either.