Motorists had received fines for driving above 30km/h on November 16 on Lower Hutt's Rata St. Photo / RNZ, Samuel Rillstone
By Anya Fielding of RNZ
Hundreds of speeding fines issued on a single day in Lower Hutt have been cancelled and refunded, after NZTA Waka Kotahi decided road signs had created confusion about the speed limit.
The transport agency issued 279 fines for speeding captured by a mobile safety camera on Rata St on November 16.
Motorists had received fines for driving above 30km/h on that day. Some had even been issued multiple fines for the same day.
Locals complained online and to the agency, saying road signs did not make a 30km/h limit clear.
A variable speed limit sign near Rata Street School, which caps the speed at 30km/h during school drop-off and pick-up times, created confusion as to what the speed limit was outside these times.
Another sign further down the street signals a 30km/h limit but has a “Kura/School” warning on it, implying there is another school zone, despite not being near a school.
Nikki Anglesey was fined $170 for going 51km/h down the road, which she thought had a limit of 50km/h, as there were no schools near where she was driving and it was a Sunday during the summer school holidays – well outside school pick-up and drop-off times.
“It’s the first time I’ve had a speeding ticket in forever. I was kind of shocked because of the amount.”
She originally “shrugged it off” but decided to challenge the fine because she thought the signs were “really not clear”.
After Anglesey’s appeal was rejected, she requested more details about where the camera was and on what basis the fine was issued.
“I got very vague responses to that,” she said.
Anglesey consulted the NZTA’s website to find out the speed limit on Rata St, but was given conflicting answers.
“If you click on the street, it will say 30[km/h], but if you put in your address, it will say 50[km/h].”
She decided to apply to go to court. But the case never got that far.
Following a review by NZTA, the transport authority decided on a blanket reversal of all fines for that day, acknowledging that signs had “created a genuine uncertainty”.
“NZTA acknowledges that the speed limit signage in place at this site was not clear,” it said in a statement.
“Concerns were raised by affected drivers that the different signs caused confusion about the time period that the 30km/h speed limit was enforceable. We accept this situation was confusing for drivers and this is why we rescinded the infringement notices we issued.”
Anglesey found the letter notifying her of this decision “interesting”.
“They don’t give you much detail, but they said: ‘we’ve changed it because of public feedback’. That’s kind of weird. Shouldn’t you change it because the signage is not right? Or because no one still knows what the speed is on the street?
“Somebody, whoever’s in charge, needs to make a decision on what the speed actually is and whether that’s consistent for the whole street.”
Anna Chinn, an RNZ staffer, received three fines for that Sunday, when her partner had been driving.
“I have had maybe in my entire adult life two speeding tickets. That’s news to us that it’s 30[km/h] all the way on Rata St.”
Chinn was ecstatic when she found the fines had been cancelled or were being refunded.
“Getting three speeding fines refunded is just like three Christmases coming at once.
“I’m grateful to everybody who had the capacity and went the whole hog and made sure that NZTA refunded those tickets.”
Rata St had a 50km/h speed limit outside of the school zone up until 2024, when the limit on the street was reduced to 30km/h.
In January 2025, the central Government required local councils to reverse all speed limits lowered since January 2020 back to their previous limits by July 1 and introduce variable speed limits outside schools during pick-up and drop-off times.
Outside Rata Street School, the speed limit is 30km/h at all times.
The council is rolling out speed limit reversals near schools in batches, with Rata Street School in the third and last one.
Streets with schools in the first batch had speed limits outside drop-off and pick-up times revert to 50km/h in January. Those in phase two are currently implementing changes.
A Hutt City Council spokesperson said: “There are variable speeds on Rata Street and motorists need to be vigilant especially when driving past the schools on this street.
“We are making some changes that will make things clearer for motorists and we have been in touch with the community about this.”
- RNZ