Easter campaign targets notorious road

Don Shanks, chief of the Mangatangi volunteer fire brigade, with the 85 crosses representing fatalities on the killer stretch of road in the past 25 years. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

A provocative billboard campaign will target drivers on the notorious Maramarua stretch of State Highway 2 over the Easter holiday.

The so-called unforgiving highway - where 40 people have died in road accidents in five years - will be negotiated by thousands of motorists heading to the Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty.

This morning 18 billboards will go up - nine in each direction - on a 35km section of SH2 between Pokeno and Mangatarata.

The focus of the campaign is driver carelessness and inattention. The road safety push will particularly target motorists travelling from Auckland and will use a variation of the acronym Jafa - Just Another Fatal Accident.

Waikato's roading police manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said yesterday that the Maramarua corridor was "a fairly unforgiving environment" for any motorist who erred.

"There isn't much chance to recover if you make a mistake. But the cautious driver gets through, no problem."

Mr Tooman said it was time drivers took responsibility for their driving habits and for the safety of their passengers and other road users.

"We can't get away from the fact that careless driving is the biggest cause of these crashes.

"The fatigue issue is a pretty major one on that road. Most of the fatal crashes involve vehicles driving off the road or across the centreline. And on this section of highway, if you stray across the centreline, chances are you will hit a truck."

The campaign will be launched at a roadside function on SH2 at the Summit Quinphos depot near Mangatawhiri at 2pm today.

A driver fatigue stop will also be held at the same venue to highlight the dangers of tiredness.

Signs will invite eastbound drivers to pull off the highway for a coffee and a snack.

Crash statistics show most victims on the treacherous stretch of north Waikato road have been Aucklanders, more than half of whom died on their way home.

The latest fatality occurred last Friday when a motorcycle and a truck collided.

Waikato and Auckland police have increased patrols in the area and are targeting days and times when crashes are most likely to happen.

Transit New Zealand has committed $2.7 million to short-term engineering improvements, including new signs, bolder road markings, extra-long no-passing lanes, profiled edgelines and centrelines to wake up drivers who stray from their lanes, and "clear zones" along the road edge.

In response to a call for a median barrier, Mr Tooman said he would like to see barriers on every road throughout the country.

Concrete or wire-rope barriers physically prevented motorists who crossed the centreline hitting opposing traffic.

"But you have to weigh up the cost - it's got to be realistic," he said.

Building median barriers the length of the worst stretch of SH2 was not going to happen, because too much work would have to be done to widen the road.

Transit New Zealand's Waikato regional manager, Chris Allen, said installing medians cost about $500,000 a km, including earthworks. Some wire-rope medians were planned eventually for sections of the corridor when deviations were built.

Regional Land Transport Committee chairman Angus Macdonald said drivers generally saw themselves as law-abiding, considerate drivers in control of their vehicles.

"This campaign is about people taking responsibility for their actions and driving with more care and consideration for others and the conditions.

"People need to slow down, be observant and considerate and drive to the conditions.

"Every year numerous families are torn apart, lives end prematurely and people are scarred for life.

"People think it will happen to someone else, but it is really quite likely to happen to you," Mr Macdonald said.

The campaign is supported by the police, Transit, Land Transport New Zealand, Environment Waikato, ACC Injury Prevention, the Fire Service, and the Franklin and Waikato District Councils.

A multi-agency team is planning further driver education initiatives including more fatigue stops, community educational projects, special promotions and special truck signs.