The sign on the left-hand side of SH33 at Ōkere Falls has been knocked sideways so that drivers see a 100km/h limit instead of the intended 60km/h one, which now faces the bank.
The sign on the left-hand side of SH33 at Ōkere Falls has been knocked sideways so that drivers see a 100km/h limit instead of the intended 60km/h one, which now faces the bank.
A misaligned speed limit sign on State Highway 33 near Ōkere Falls has raised questions about enforcement practices.
A road safety engineer identified the faulty sign on State Highway 33, near Ōkere Falls, after passing a mobile speed camera trailer nearby.
Michael Thorne was travelling east along the highway onSaturday when he failed to notice the transition from a 100km/h to a 60km/h zone.
The change occurs between the boat ramp and Whangamarino School.
There, he saw a speed camera trailer parked in the school’s entrance bay.
Thorne believed the corresponding sign on the right side of the road could easily be obscured by vans and other high-sided vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.
The 60km/h sign on the right‑hand side of SH33 at Ōkere Falls. Photo / NZTA
With his background in road safety, he said, “to enforce a speed limit, the signs must be in place and no ambiguity”.
He questioned why the signage was not checked before the trailer was deployed.
NZTA said the sign on the left-hand side of the highway was “displaced from its proper position”.
New signs had arrived and would be reinstated next week.
