Speeding leeway tipped to stay

By KEVIN TAYLOR political reporter

The 10km/h speed camera tolerance police operate will probably not be lowered, the Government has signalled.

Police Minister George Hawkins told Parliament yesterday that lowering the tolerance was not the Government's policy and "probably won't be".

He was being questioned by National Party police spokesman Tony Ryall over traffic ticket quotas and a suggestion the 10km/h tolerance might be halved.

Pointing out that 85 per cent of all crashes occur below the speed limit, Mr Ryall asked why he was supporting a lower tolerance when it was "not those speeds that kill".

Mr Hawkins replied: "That is not the Government's policy, it probably won't be the Government's policy."

Transport Minister Paul Swain is working on proposals designed to help cut the annual road toll and a package of measures, due next month, was believed by some to have included a plan to lower the police tolerance to speed limit breaches.

A spokeswoman for Mr Swain said yesterday that lowering the tolerance had always been a low priority but she would not elaborate further other than to say a package of measures is due to go to Cabinet next month.

Mr Ryall said later that Mr Hawkins' statement indicated the Government would back down on the plan.

"This is the clearest indication yet that Labour is under pressure to abandon the speed camera move in the face of strong political and public opposition."

Earlier yesterday, National MP and former transport minister Maurice Williamson questioned Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) officials at a select committee on the proposal to lower the tolerance.

He said that on any day of the week traffic on Auckland motorways flowed above the 5km/h tolerance proposed. "The serious accident - the very serious injury and the death ones - involve speeds considerably beyond the 10km/h tolerance and that your real target needs to be people above that."

But LTSA director David Wright said there was a "significant problem" with people driving over the speed limit on urban roads as well as the open road.

He said the proposal to lower the tolerance was only an "option" for Mr Swain to consider along with other options dealing with management of speed.

Mr Wright cited the example of two cars, one doing 50km/h and one doing 60km/h, on an urban street who both spotted somebody 40m ahead and were forced to brake.

"The car that's doing 50km/h will be able to stop before he hits the pedestrian. The car doing 60km/h is still going to hit that pedestrian or cyclist with sufficient force to cause significant injury if not death."

Mr Williamson said drivers questioned the need for the cameras on Waipuna Rd, Ti Rakau Drive, the Ellerslie Panmure Highway and some other arterial roads in the city.

The Pakuranga MP said there was a groundswell of public feeling that the speed cameras were just revenue-catchers, and although the three sites might have been blackspots once, they were not any more.

"[Police] are just simply able to go click, click, click all day long and even the vicar on his way home from church on Sundays is getting clicked."

Mr Wright said speed camera sites were regularly reassessed but he could not comment on the three sites Mr Williamson cited.

He said there was no change to the policy of putting cameras in the worst accident spots. The cameras were to address road safety, not for revenue gathering.

Camera fines collected

* 2001-02 $31.7 million

* 2002-03 $32.8 million

Police have no separate region-by-region figures.