Government announces $22.5 million rural road safety package

Rural roads across the country are getting a multi-million-dollar safety boost for summer.

The NZ Transport Agency is rolling out $22.5 million in low-cost safety improvements on rural state highways throughout New Zealand.

The upgrades will begin in February 2018 and include rumble strips, signs and safety barriers.

Taumarunui to National Park (SH4), Ngawapurua to Manawatu-Wanganui boundary (SH2), Tohunga Junction to Whanganui (SH4), Whangaehu to Bulls (SH3) and Bulls to Foxton (SH1 N) are some of the targeted areas.

Associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter says the programme is in response to the rising road toll.

“The number of people losing their lives on our roads has increased every year for the past five years. When things are this bad government has a responsibility to act.

“Many deaths and injuries can be avoided on these roads by making some relatively simple changes. For example, we know rumble strips can reduce all crashes by around 25% and fatal run-off-road crashes by up to 42%,” she says.

About 362 people have been killed on New Zealand roads this year to December 18 compared with 310 last year.

The programme is also investigating rural intersection activated warning signs (RIAWS) at a number of high-risk intersections on other state highways around the country.
Proposed locations, set for March next year, are in Northland, Waikato, Horowhenua, Canterbury and Central Otago.

The electronic signs reduce the speed limit on the state highway if a vehicle is turning into or out of a side road.

The devices are already being used at 13 locations around the country to improve intersection safety.

However, National Party transport spokeswoman Judith Collins told Radio New Zealand road quality, rather than speed limits, should be the focus.

“We also need to be aware that we’ve got trucks and cars travelling at speed and every time there is a slowdown, it slows everything down – so we just need to be a little bit realistic about it,” she says.