These signs at the Kauri speed camera, near Whangārei will be replaced with warning signs saying ‘safety camera area’.
These signs at the Kauri speed camera, near Whangārei will be replaced with warning signs saying ‘safety camera area’.
The rollout of speed camera warning signs across New Zealand - including a controversial speed camera in Northland - will alert more drivers to travel at safer speeds though high-risk areas.
That’s the opinion of the Automobile Association (AA) who has long been calling for warning signs to be installed at all fixed speed camera sites to improve safety and reduce speed-related deaths.
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the rollout to encourage drivers to check their speeds, improve road safety, and avoid costly speeding tickets.
AA road safety spokesman Dylan Thomsen said signs letting drivers know there was a permanent camera ahead would be more effective at slowing people down in high-risk locations.
“Speed cameras are primarily about deterring people from speeding, not punishing them,” he said.
“No one wants a ticket, so giving people the opportunity to check their speed and slow down through high-risk crash areas is better than issuing a ticket and relying on them to remember to slow down next time.”
New Zealand’s first permanent speed camera with warning signs began operating on SH1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa in the Far North last month.
The state-of-the-art camera was first installed at the end of June 2023 but delays, including opposition to the automatic number plate recognition technology, meant tickets couldn’t be issued for another full year.
The second NZTA-operated camera scheduled to go live with new speed limit signage is in Taupaki, Auckland between July and August.
The Government is rolling out speed camera warning signs at fixed speed cameras, including those in Northland.
From August 2024 to June 2025 around 106 police-operated cameras will be transferred to NZTA, each of which will have signage installed.
Brown said the previous government announced in 2019 that speed camera signs would be phased in across the country but “failed to deliver”.
At the time, the associate transport minister said a new “no surprises” approach to safety cameras would introduce warning signs in high-risk areas. However, none were ever installed.
“Providing Kiwis with an opportunity to check their speed and slow down in high crash areas where speed cameras are located will avoid speeding tickets and the more tragic consequences of speeding,” Brown said.
“Speed cameras should be about improving safety, not raising revenue.
“That’s why they should be sign-posted so Kiwis have a fair warning to slow down and avoid a ticket. It’s the right thing to do.”
One of the country’s few permanent cameras that has had some form of signage is at Kauri, at the junction of Saleyards Rd and SH1 north of Whangārei.
The signs warn drivers to ‘Reduce Speed Now’, and since being installed in 2018, speeding infringements more than halved.
The controversial camera on SH1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa in the Far North was the first in the country to have the new warning signs.
Thomsen said that’s a “significant reduction”.
He expects adding warning signage at other permanent camera sites will see similar drops in speeding motorists.
The rollout of speed camera signs is expected to be completed nationwide by June 2025.
Mobile speed cameras will not be sign-posted.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.
