Ormond Rd, aka Oak Avenue, after a crash. Photo / Paul Taylor
Ormond Rd, aka Oak Avenue, after a crash. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hastings District Council wants to slightly reduce the speed limit along a well-known tree-lined avenue where a local man lost his life in 2021, after a recommendation from the Serious Crash Unit.
The district council is waiting on a Government policy decision, due to be finalised by the endof next month, before it looks to take action on the unit’s recommendation, which came into a coroner’s report into the death of Fili Oli Alainuuese.
Alainuuese’s sister, Faalagi Oli, was driving him home from work. Her friend, Javerron Leung Wo, was in the front passenger seat while Alainuuese was in the back seat.
Oli veered across the oncoming lane and collided with a tree. Alainuuese died at the scene while Oli and Wo were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A police Serious Crash Unit investigation found fatigue was a “likely” causative factor in the crash because Oli and Wo had stayed up late the night before watching movies. Alainuuese was also not wearing a seatbelt.
Oli later pleaded guilty to one charge of careless use of a motor vehicle causing death and was discharged without conviction, disqualified from driving for six months and asked to donate $500 to Hato Hone St John or a similar charity.
McKenzie said she did not make an affirmative finding that Oli had fallen asleep, but she was satisfied it was likely fatigue was a factor in the crash.
Fili Alainuuese, left, who died in a crash in Hastings on Wednesday, with his older brother Peleti Oli. Photo / Supplied
Serious Crash Unit and consultants make road safety recommendations
Following the crash, the Serious Crash Unit (SCU) made recommendations to the council that included lowering the speed limit from 60km/h to 50km/h, reducing lane widths to 3m with a marked centreline and painted shoulder, and installing rumble strips on both sides and the centre to let drivers know if they depart the lane they are in.
The council engaged consultancy company WSP to investigate the safety of Ormond Rd and explore potential improvements, looking into a wider set of factors than only this crash.
The report stated the number of crashes and their severity were probably due to the frequency of trees and hazards along the road segments, their proximity to the road, and vehicle speeds.
WSP’s recommendations included lowering the speed limit from 60km/h to 50km/h and reducing the lane widths as per the SCU’s recommendations.
In March 2022, the council reduced the traffic lane width and marked the edge lines. according to a council spokeswoman.
“Council had planned to include a proposal to change the speed limit along Ormond Rd from 60km/h to 50km/h in its draft Speed Management Plan that was being developed. However, Government issued a new draft Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 earlier this year (which may affect councils’ abilities and/or the processes to make speed changes),” the spokeswoman said.
“With submissions being considered at the moment, further work on council’s draft Speed Management Plan has been put on hold until we know the outcome of the Government process, and how that will affect councils.”
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the Government had committed to signing the new speed limit rule by September 30 in its Q3 Action Plan.
McKenzie set out the recommendations of the SCU and WSP reports, along with the steps the council had taken, but decided to make no further recommendations because Faalagi Oli had veered across the road for an unknown reason, possibly fatigue.
In March 2022, the council reduced the traffic lane width and marked the edge line along Ormond Rd/Oak Ave. Photo / Paul Taylor
‘If there was a barrier there, would it have stopped it? I don’t know’
Peleti Oli said his family had found closure through learning the factors leading to the crash and the conclusion of the court process.
“It was a difficult process because she [Faalagi Oli] was already carrying enough guilt through the loss of my brother.
“For me, when the accident happened the car struck the tree and it is a constant reminder for us every time we drove past it. I just see the tree and I just want to cut it down,” Peleti Oli said.
“It wasn’t the tree’s fault you know, but there are a lot of factors that played into it too.”
He said a decrease in the speed limit could make a difference in general safety in Ormond Rd, but he believed people would still speed because it was a long road with no speed cameras and relatively little police presence that people used to avoid motorway traffic.
“People who are trying to skip the motorway are often in a rush, so they are going to speed down that road anyway.”
He said besides cutting the oak trees down, one of the few ways to improve safety on the stretch of road was to put up barriers, although he recognised that option was not on the table.
“If there was a barrier there, would it have stopped it? I don’t know.”
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features with a focus on the environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
