Not many of us knew over-compliance was actually an issue — certainly not one so egregious it warranted a tip line.
Our anti-cone coalition is offering a solution to a problem few knew was a problem.
The more apparent predicament, you’d think, is the road toll – and our appalling workplace safety stats.
Cone-curbing thumbs its nose at both these plagues.
The current regime’s call to reinstate higher speeds on certain corridors of our highways seems to run counter to decades of speed-warning narrative from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and police.
The reversal sings from a different song sheet to the years of “Speed Kills ... The Faster You Go, The Bigger The Mess” campaigns and billboards.
In 2022, NZTA came in hot and heavy with assurances that lowered speeds were crucial; reduced speed and reduced harm were correlated.
One can infer either that the current Government disagrees with the 2022 stance of its expert agency – or is disinterested in its findings.
NZTA has been quiet about the about-face.
Consequently, it now has a credibility gap gifted courtesy of its new pro-accelerator ministers.
In May last year, former road-policing assistant commissioner Dave Cliff penned an opinion piece lamenting the “failure” to recognise the link between mean travel speeds and road-trauma rates. He quoted a 2021 Ministry of Transport report showing crashes had a social cost of over $9.7 billion.
“Governments must take steps to reduce the trauma by applying the ‘evidence’ and not insupportable political whim,” he wrote.
Recently, Dr Timothy Welch, a senior lecturer in the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering and Design, claimed that asking frustrated motorists to judge whether a worksite has too many cones is like asking passengers to report on a pilot’s landing procedure.
“It might feel satisfying, but it’s almost certainly a waste of everyone’s time.”
A road-toll comparison in 2023 showed that if New Zealand had the same per-capita rate of road deaths as Australia in that year, there would have been fewer than 250 people killed on New Zealand roads instead of 343.
Workers in New Zealand are still twice as likely to die in a workplace accident than those in Australia.
Lucky country, indeed.
Time to focus on over-compliance? Yeah, nah.
Go on, Mr Oliver, serve our deserved lampoon. After all, most hotlines are for those feeling unsafe – yet we Kiwis boast one for those who feel too safe.
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