Some roads that have had speed limits reduced may have them increased again under a National-led government
The National Party’s transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said speed limit reductions and other changes brought in under the Road to Zero strategy would be reviewed.
"We’ll be asking NZTA to review those, for example, State Highway 2 in the Wairarapa is a classic case where it doesn’t make sense that it’s been dropped from 100kph down to 80kph.
“It’s a safe road.” READ MORE: * Public pump brakes on lower speed limits * Government backing off from Road to Zero safety targets, say Greens
National has been opposed to what it has described as “blanket speed limit reductions”, brought in by a new Land Transport Rule last year.
The Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2022 came into effect in May, and with it, the establishment of a Speed Management Committee.
The committee is responsible for making sure speed management plans across the country met the intention of the rule, and were consistent between local councils, which set the speed limits for local roads, and Waka Kotahi, which then decides them for state highways.
The rule makes it easier for local councils to lower speed limits, particularly near schools and marae.
It’s all part of the Tackling Unsafe Speeds programme – a priority under Road to Zero.
Just before Chris Hipkins put state highway speed limit reduction plans on the policy “reprioritisation” bonfire, Waka Kotahi had put its draft plan out for consultation.
It suggested lower limits on just over 500km of state highway – four percent of the network.
However, Hipkins changed the plan, directing only the most dangerous one percent to be reviewed.
Waka Kotahi’s plan is still with the Speed Management Committee for consideration.
National would repeal the rule, though it would retain the requirements regarding variable limits – for example outside schools at pick-up and drop-off times.
‘We want to relook at the whole program to make sure that it is practical, it's achievable, and that it's not something that simply inconveniences people’ - Simeon Brown
Speed-limit reductions were a big part of how the Road to Zero target would be met.
Almost half of the fewer deaths and serious injuries forecast under Road to Zero will be achieved by speed-limit reductions and infrastructure improvements.
Speed-limit reductions were also seen as a relatively cost-effective way to improve road safety, but public buy-in has been difficult.
Officials have now raised concerns that with speed-limit reduction plans on state highways now not going ahead this target will be harder, if not impossible, to meet.
But Simeon Brown said he would like to see the focus move away from speed-limit reductions to clamping down on drugged and drunk drivers.
“That is going to be where we will be putting a significant amount of resources and attention because we see that as the number one factor behind deaths and serious injuries on our roads.
“It's one of the things we'd look through when we are rewriting the Government Policy Statement on transport – what is the resourcing allocation that's required to make sure that the police have the ability to effectively implement that?”
Data from the Ministry of Transport shows that speed and alcohol/drugs are both strong contenders for “worst offender” when it comes to road deaths and injuries.
Between 2019 and 2021 alcohol or drugs or both were a factor in 23 percent of fatal crashes, speeding was a factor in 12 percent, and alcohol and speeding combined contributed to 20 percent of fatal crashes.
National had planned to remove Road to Zero as its own activity class within the Government Policy Statement on land transport, something the Government did anyway when it released its draft policy last week.
The Green Party has accused Labour of walking away from Road to Zero, given it removed it as an activity class and changed the language in the policy statement from “develop a transport system where no one is killed or seriously injured”, to “transport is made substantially safer for all”.
Brown said reviewing the targets for Road to Zero would also be on the cards.
There is growing concern within Government and from transport commentators that the target of a 40 percent reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2030 will not be met.
"We want to relook at the whole program to make sure that it is practical, it's achievable, and that it's not something that simply inconveniences people who are trying to get around [in] their daily lives, which has been the approach this government has taken.
"Simply just telling New Zealanders that they have to drive slower and making driving more or less convenient doesn't actually address the fact that many of the cases where speed is a contributing factor is people already breaking the law.”
