Some speed limit signs, like this one near Bay of Islands Airport, have been rammed with a vehicle presumably fitted with bull bars. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Some speed limit signs, like this one near Bay of Islands Airport, have been rammed with a vehicle presumably fitted with bull bars. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Far North ratepayers are facing bills of tens of thousands of dollars to repair road signs wrecked in a vandalism spree.
Road signs have been bowled, cut down and smashed up for months but destruction has stepped up in the past week following the introduction of new speed limits insome areas.
Previous vandalism appeared to be random, with four-wheel-drive vehicles and skillsaws used to demolish any kind of traffic sign, but the latest attacks clearly target reduced speed limits.
Late last week nine new 80km/h speed limit signs were damaged on Wiroa Rd/Waiare Rd, a busy stretch linking the Kerikeri roundabout on SH10 with SH1 at Ōkaihau.
Some appeared to have been pushed over by hand but tyre tracks show others were rammed, presumably by a vehicle fitted with bull bars.
A truck passes a bowled speed limit sign on Wiroa Rd. Photo / Peter de Graaf
According to the Far North District Council, in the last six months of 2020 the cost of fixing vandalised signs was just over $40,000. Newer figures are not yet available but they are expected to be considerably higher.
Infrastructure general manager Andy Finch said the council was ''extremely concerned'' about the ongoing campaign of road sign vandalism around Kerikeri, Waimate North and Ōkaihau.
The destruction included crucial road safety messages such as stop and give way signs, priority warnings at single lane bridges, curve warnings and chevrons — and now new speed limit signs.
A pair of bowled signs flanking Wiroa Rd. Photo / Peter de Graaf
''This is an orchestrated campaign that goes far beyond youthful summer pranks or trophy hunting," said Finch. "Signs with substantial concrete foundations are being pushed over using four-wheel-drive vehicles, posts are sawn through at the base or snapped off altogether. Some signs have been targeted more than once.
''There is no doubt this vandalism could contribute to serious road accidents and is putting lives at risk. We're asking anyone who can help identify the culprits to contact the council or police.''
Finch said the damage also placed a significant, unbudgeted burden on ratepayers, with tens of thousands of dollars already spent repairing and replacing signs.
''This is money we'd rather spend improving our road network and making it safer for all users,'' he said.
Two more flattened speed limit signs on Waiare Rd near Ōkaihau. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The damage has also annoyed residents such as Peter Trimble.
Ironically, the same day the signs were vandalised another car crashed at a notorious bend on Wiroa Rd, he said.
No one was injured but the driver had to be cut out of the wreckage by firefighters.
In the two years Trimble had lived at Ōkaihau he estimated 20 cars had lost control and smashed through fences at the bend.
''Every one of them had the potential to turn into a head-on with my family,'' he said.
The main cause of serious crashes in the area was not speed but badly behaved drivers overtaking on blind corners, but he still backed the speed limit reduction because many bends couldn't be negotiated safely above 80km/h.
A vandalised speed limit sign just west of a notorious bend between Kerikeri and Ōkaihau. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Far North Mayor John Carter described the vandalism as ''sheer stupidity''.
''These people need to grow up. If they want to make a point there are appropriate channels to do so. To put other people's lives at risk is unacceptable.''
The new speed limits are part of the Road to Zero strategy, a New Zealand-wide drive to cut road deaths by various means including reduced speeds.
All councils are required to review the speed limits on local roads.
The Far North District Council started last year with more than 60 rural roads roughly between Waimate North, Waipapa and Ōkaihau. The new limits come into force when contractors put up the new signs.
Council staff are carrying out the review in stages because of the sheer number of roads involved.
A ute passes another pair of flattened speed limit signs about midway between Kerikeri and Okaihau. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The next area up for review covers Kaitaia, Awaroa, Kohukohu and Broadwood, followed by Kerikeri and Waipapa.
The Kerikeri-Waipapa area includes the contentious Kapiro Rd, where residents have been calling for an 80km/h limit for years.
In 2017 a resident fed up with crashes outside her home took matters into her own hands and changed the 100km/h signs to 80.
In the past the speed limit on most rural roads has been 100km/h, regardless of the state of the road.
Under the new rules the limit drops to 80km/h on most sealed rural roads and 60km/h on most unsealed roads. The limit may be lower on narrow, windy roads or near schools.
Similar reviews are underway in the Whangārei and Kaipara districts.
Speed limits on state highways are decided by the NZ Transport Agency via a separate process.
