By STUART DYE transport reporter
Up to $1 million worth of warning signs have been stolen from roads in the last year.
In one swoop thieves grabbed $5000 worth of signs from a roadworks site in Auckland.
The eternal "student prank" is illegal, dangerous and costly, says Transit New Zealand's network
operations manager, Dave Bates.
"This is a get-real message: the consequences of stealing warning signs are road crashes," Mr Bates said.
Warning signs at roadworks sites were there to alert motorists to hazards.
"They are not trophies. Stealing warning signs is theft, and the results of such theft could easily be a death or serious crash."
Road cones were also stolen, especially at the beginning of the rugby season, said Mr Bates.
Drivers faced a serious hazard when loose chip had been laid. They could lose control because warning signs had been vandalised or stolen.
Directional signs and chevron signs that warned of corners were also being vandalised, sometimes by graffiti that obscured the reflective panels, sometimes being broken and thrown on the roadside.
Mr Bates said roadworks sites were a particular target for theft and vandalism.
"We had one incident on a works site on State Highway 18 in Auckland where $5000 worth of signs were taken in one afternoon."
Transit is appealing to people to leave road signs on the road "where they belong. We're asking everyone to get in touch with the police when they see road signs being taken or trashed".
The national road policing manager, Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald, said stealing road signs could bring a charge of endangering traffic, which carried a heavy penalty.
"This irresponsible behaviour can create a very real danger for motorists. Unsuspecting drivers are coming across unmarked roadworks, often in the dark."
It could be disastrous and was taken very seriously.
