Police monitoring motorists' speeds through the Cameron Rd roadworks site on June 8. Photo / Mead Norton
Police monitoring motorists' speeds through the Cameron Rd roadworks site on June 8. Photo / Mead Norton
It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or worse say those concerned about a major roadworks project in central Tauranga plagued by speedsters and abusive motorists.
The poor driver behaviour at Cameron Rd, between First and Third Avenues, has become so prevalent that police arenow targeting such drivers in a bid to better protect bystanders, businesses, and roadworkers trying to do their job.
The roadworks site has a temporary 30km/h speed limit while work is done to change the road layout as part of the Tauranga City Council Cameron Rd project.
Bayride Motorcycles co-owner Damian Fleming said drivers speeding through had become so bad, he has installed a safety barrier between the road and the footpath in front of his shop as an added protection for pedestrians and customers.
"The road layout ... is kind of scary, especially for pedestrians walking to and from school or work and for the elderly trying to cross this road," Fleming said.
Bayride Motorcycles co-owner Damian Fleming installed an extra barrier in front of the store to help safeguard pedestrians and customers. Photo / Mead Norton
"The speed of traffic travelling through this area is horrendous, and it's not just your stereotypical tradesman or bogan, it's everybody including cars, trucks and buses.
"You only need to stand outside our shop for three minutes and you see it all. People are not slowing down despite the speed bumps or areas where the road is a bit uneven."
Fleming said "there's been some notorious driving going on" and he's witnessed traffic controllers abused by a pedestrian who tried to cross in the wrong area. Such behaviour was "just irresponsible".
He said at the speeds some motorists were travelling it would not take much for someone to make a mistake and hit a member of the public or another vehicle.
Logan Ruahihi, support manager at Cameron Rd business Select Tyre & Auto Centre, said he also witnessed many people flouting the speed limits at work sites.
"Arguably this is the busiest street in Tauranga and we need people to just slow down.
"It's an accident waiting to happen. I'm also concerned about the next generation of drivers not just about speeding but other risky behaviours.
"This is all about monitoring yourself and doing the right thing to protect all road users including our traffic management staff and roading contractors."
The issue comes just weeks after the Bay of Plenty Times reported on an increasing level of abuse and aggression towards Tauranga roadworkers, including glass bottles and golf balls being hurled at them.
Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter, head of the Western Bay of Plenty road policing team, said reports of people travelling through the works site up to 20km/h above the speed limit and traffic management staff being abused was "very concerning".
Hunter said there would be extra police monitoring the area and anyone caught speeding could expect to be fined.
"We are hoping education will result in a change in people's behaviour but for those who fail to heed the speed limit, they can expect an infringement notice and demerit points.
"It's not right that these people who are just doing their job and trying to keep everyone travelling this busy route safe to be abused."
Yesterday afternoon, four motorists were issued infringement notices for travelling over 40km/h through the site during an enforcement check and another 35 received warnings for driving at between 33km/h and 36km/h.
On Tuesday, observations by the Bay of Plenty Times found that within a 15-minute timeframe, a dozen drivers sped through the area with their speeds clocked on an electronic speed awareness sign.
These motorists' speeds ranged from 31km/h to 49km/h, with five of those travelling at 40km/h or higher.
Cameron Rd joint venture project manager Dave Burns standing near a speed activated sensor capturing motorists' speed through the work site. Photo / Mead Norton
Downer and Fulton Hogan's Cameron Rd joint venture project manager David Burns said traffic travelling at such significant speeds endangered vulnerable road users including their staff.
The margin for error in such narrow traffic lanes was so slim that if a motorist speeding lost control there was huge potential for someone to be seriously hurt or worse, he said.
"Some people are just ignoring the 30km/h limit and some also seem to believe it's normal or okay to abuse those working at the site for merely doing their jobs," Burns said.
"We really need people to understand that our staff come to work to earn a living like everyone else and to do a good job, and getting abused totally ruins their whole day."
Burns said it was a difficult enough task to try to attract more traffic management controllers without these issues. He applauded the police for taking the matter so seriously.
A woman who works in the area, but would not be named, said "lots of drivers" sped through and she supported increased enforcement, as well as the works themselves.
"Do people want to put up with 100-year-old pipes or do they want to wait a little bit longer for improved infrastructure including a safer road for us to all travel on?
"My fear is that someone could be seriously hurt or killed. We don't want to see another tragedy like the ... road workers who were killed."
Dudley Soul Raroa and David Eparaima, both aged 55, and Haki Hiha, 40, were killed when their large work truck was shunted by another truck and rolled onto them in a culvert.
FACTBOX Speeding penalties • Speeding fines increase progressively from $30 for speeds less than 10km/h over the limit, to a maximum fine of $630 for speeds up to 50km/h over the limit - those travelling at more than 40km/h can also have their licence suspended for 28 days. • Exceeding the speed limit by more than 35km/h incurs 50 demerit points. Source - NZ Police
