The Big Slow Down

The Taupo side of SH5 remains at 100km/h but the 76km section from Rangataiki to Esk Valley now has a blanket 80km/h speed limit.

By Colin Smith

IN THE FACE OF VOCAL OPPOSITION, THE 80KM/H SPEED LIMIT

for the Rangataiki to Eskdale section of State Highway 5 came into force on February 18, slowing the traffic flow and freight movements on a major North Island route.

The lower speed limit for the 76km stretch of highway wasn’t supported by the majority of formal submissions received during last year’s engagement and consultation process.

And that Waka Kotahi NZTA process has been heavily criticised by many who are directly affected by the change. And even the SH5 Napier-to-Taupo Speed Review Summary published by Waka Kotahi NZTA in November 2021 reveals there was limited support for an across-the-board reduction in the speed limit.

It did confirm support for reduced speeds at certain sections of SH5 and many submissions highlighted the need for improved maintenance, signage and police enforcement on the highway which links Taupo and Hawke’s Bay.

Among the groups to signal they did not support the change were the Road Transport Forum (prior to becoming Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting NZ), the Road Transport Association, the Automobile Association and Gisborne District Council (in a joint submission) and both the Hastings District Council and Napier City Council.

The MP for Napier Stuart Nash and MP for Tukituki Anna Lorck made a joint submission expressing support in general for the proposal but also seeking improvements for the highway. They also stated they were disappointed the proposal was being fast-tracked without critical public engagement.

Several submissions questioned the accuracy of NZTA accident statistics for SH5.

For many transport operators the new speed limit which came into force on February 18 is reducing the efficiency of modern trucks, creating scheduling issues and bringing concerns that frustrated motorists will make poor decisions while attempting to overtake trucks.

Bryan Smith, director of Self Loader Logging which operates logging trucks daily on SH5 says the changes will affect the productivity of his trucks and could mean more hours on the road for his drivers.

But his main concern is the blanket 80km/h speed limit doesn’t address the main issues on SH5.

“The road is my workplace and the workplace for my staff. We are out there every day, and every day we see people who lack good skills and decision-making ability who are doing meat head things on the road,” Smith says.

“All of my trucks have cameras in them, so we see it every day. I fully support Greg Murphy and his views about driver education.

“The NZTA approach is an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. I’d like to see all of the $1.5million I pay every year in Road User Charges going toward maintaining and improving the roads,” says Smith.

“You can’t say speed isn’t a factor but it’s only a factor if you crash. I’m concerned that NZTA seem to think speed is the only factor.”

Smith says the recent “Stay Alive on 5” campaign with an increased Police presence and enforcement proved effective in improving safety on the Napier-Taupo highway

“Last year, when the police were allowed to do their job and they had a regular presence on the road, nobody was killed. What does that tell you?

As for the consultation process, Smith calls it “an absolute joke.”

“They [NZTA] had 100% made up their minds before the so-called

The ‘Stay Alive on 5’ campaign with an increased police presence has been rated a success by regular users of the Napier-Taupo route.

consultation process.

“It’s the same with the State Highway 30 proposal. They have already made up their mind.

“Yes, there are sections of that road [SH30] that should have a lower speed limit but 80km/h and 60km/h for the whole road is not the answer.”

Stephenson Transport in Hawke’s Bay has livestock trucks working on SH5 nearly every day.

Chairman Bruce Stephenson says the slower speeds provide further logistics problems around driver’s maximum hours and the stricter controls on safe and humane transport of livestock.

“It’s quite a major for us and puts a lot of pressure on the time constraints and regulations we have to work within,” Stephenson says.

“One of the problems with 80km/h is trucks won’t be able to build up some momentum before the longer hills. There will be a lot of frustrated motorists behind them and that will lead to more dangerous overtaking.

“We see it every day anyway, but it’s only going to get worse.”

Stephenson also wasn’t happy with the consultation process.

“It wasn’t good at all. They had their own ideas and didn’t want to listen to us,” he says.

He believes the Waka Kotahi NZTA decision makers lack real world knowledge of the highways, especially in regard to how trucks operate.

“I’ve offered them the opportunity to join us for a day in a truck and show them the reality of the situation from a truck drivers’ point of view, but they’re not interested.”

Stephenson also believes that the “Stay Alive on 5” campaign had a positive effect on the safety of the Napier-Taupo highway during 2021.

Another transport firm that has trucks running on SH5 almost every day is Emmerson Transport.

Kerry Hughes, the company’s Group Fleet Performance Manager based in Hastings, has already been assessing what the lower speed limit will mean to driving hours, scheduling and fuel efficiency.

“We’ve already done one run at 80km/h to compare with our usual times and it’s about 18 minutes slower. So that will be between 30 and 40 minutes on each return trip,” says Hughes.

“Modern trucks built for the New Zealand market have been specified with their engines, weights and gearing to be the most efficient at 90km/h.

“Running at 80km/h means they won’t be operating as efficiently in terms of torque and gear ratios and that impacts fuel consumption and temperatures.

“It gives us some more challenges. For instance, I think brakes will have to be relined more often.”

As for his opinion of the new speed limit, Hughes says; “It’s ludicrous. I think it might actually cause more accidents because some people will still drive like idiots.

“I came back over SH5 in my ute the other day and on the run down from Eland it’s actually difficult to hold that speed.”

Road safety advocate and motor racing star Greg Murphy has been vocal in his opposition to the change and has worked alongside several of groups, including the Hastings District Council, who are opposed to the speed change.

He believes if NZTA ranks speed as the major problem on SH5, “then they are making a big mistake.”

“The biggest problem is neglect of the road. While NZTA have committed to a spend on the road in the future, it’s only beginning to make up for decades of neglect when they haven’t been doing their job,” says Murphy.

“I believe the public have been absolutely tucked on this issue. The statistics they [NZTA] have used have been skewed and they are questioned in a number of the submissions.”

Murphy says last year’s consultation process was little more than lip service.

“They were going to make a blanket speed limit reduction to 80km/h regardless. And there is no suggestion that even after the road works and infrastructure spend is done that the speed will change back.”

Murphy says NZTAs own summary of the submissions confirm the majority of feedback was strongly against the lower speed limit, including from community groups that live on the highway.

“There are sections of the road where a lower speed limit is appropriate, but a blanket change to 80km/h all the way from Rangataiki to Eskdale makes no sense,” he says.

“One of the biggest ironies is that some of the submissions supported a reduction in the speed limit from the Bayview turnoff through to Eskdale.

“It’s got two schools, wineries and cafes and has become quite a built-up semi-rural/residential area, but it’s staying at 100km/h. I think any truckie driving SH5 would identify that area as one where a lower speed limit is appropriate.

“I think NZTA needed to be seen to be doing something and they have manipulated the information to make it look like speed is the problem. But a lot of the crashes have nothing to do with speed.”

Like Bruce Stephenson, Murphy says he also offered NZTA leaders an opportunity for first-hand experience on the road.

“Last year I emailed an invitation to the NZTA spokesperson at the time, offering to spend a day with her on the road,” says Murphy.

“I didn’t receive a reply.”

Murphy supports the comments of the transport operators who say the “Stay Alive on 5” initiative is having significant benefits.

“Better visibility and positive reinforcement by the police were a huge success,” says Murphy.

Te Haroto resident Kiri Goodspeed, who has led the local opposition to the speed limit change says she feels underwhelmed by a Waka Kotahi NZTA engagement and consultation process she describes as arrogant and obstructive.

“You can’t tell me they [NZTA] have any level of engagement,” she says.

“The Treaty [of Waitangi] requires that Iwi and Hapu be consulted. I thought that as they have a number of Iwi and Hapu entities in the affected area that weren’t even consulted, we might have trumped NZTA on lack of engagement,” says Kiri.

She believes the 80km/h speed limit will negatively affect the local economy. She supports lowered speed limits in key areas of the road, targeted road maintenance and is another to praise Police for the success of the “Stay Alive on 5” campaign.

“I’m not a technical person, but I am a business analyst. I’m trying to understand the case for spending $117 million on advertising campaigns and signs to reduce speeds, and then when improvements are finally made, there is no commitment the speed will return to 100km/h,” she says.

In January she started a petition that was moving towards 8000 signatures with a week to run before its February 18 closing date. It asks Parliament to urge Waka Kotahi NZTA to rescind its decision to permanently lower the speed limit.

“I have a commitment from the three local MPs that they will support it when it’s presented to parliament,” Kiri says.

Kiri was allowed to be involved in a recent Regional Transport Committee meeting and has helped put signs up along the road opposing the change. There had been talk of crowd funding a court injunction to stop the change, but she opted against a legal challenge.

“For me now, I will let the machine takeover. It’s our understanding that once the new speed limit was gazetted, it can only be changed by the Minister Wood.”

Kiri says logging truck operators carting logs from forest sites Louise Upston, National MP for Taupo (above) and racing driver/ driver training advocate Greg Murphy have both expressed opposition to the speed limit change and want to see investment in SH5.

along SH5 to Napier Port are potentially facing a 25% cut in income.

If the reduced speed adds five minutes to each leg of the journey it would add 40 minutes to the total time of four daily return trips. That would not be legally possible on many days, reducing logging trucks to only three daily return trips.

Road safety campaigner Geoff Upson, who started the “Keep it 100” campaign after speed limit reductions near his home at Kaukapakapa about three years ago, says lack of road maintenance is a critical issue for New Zealand.

“A lot of the money collected from Road User Charges and petrol taxes is being diverted to things like rail, cycle lanes, coastal shipping and other vanity projects that are unproductive,” Geoff says.

“And it actually costs a huge amount of money just to change a speed limit with the consultation, reports, advertising campaigns and new signs. Those are huge costs, and the money could be spent on fixing the roads.

“In Auckland alone it’s $700 million over 10 years that’s been reallocated from road maintenance to slower speed limits and speed bumps and other things that have created congestion.”

Louise Upston, the National MP for Taupo, is another who wants the blanket speed reduction decision on SH5 to be reversed.

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The following is an extract from the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency SH5 Napier to Taupo Speed Review consultation and engagement summary. It was published in November 2021.

The key feedback themes across the speed review were:

• The majority of feedback did not support the proposed 80km/h speed limit between Rangitaiki and

Esk Valley. • People are supportive of speed being reduced through some residential areas and past intersections.

There was some support for high-risk sections to be lowered, areas mentioned repeatedly included

Te Haroto, Te Pohue, Waipunga, Esk Valley and alongside the Tarawera Café and Tavern. • Many comments called for other approaches, such as road safety improvements, enforcement, driver training, passing lanes and pull-over bays. • Submitters do not perceive speed as the main cause of crashes, rather people see driver frustration at slow vehicles and dangerous overtaking as the main causes of deaths. • Many comments stated driver education and training should be front of mind instead of a speed reduction. • Signage, policing and enforcement measures were seen as important to get drivers to adhere to any future speed limit changes.

More than half of the submissions did not support the proposed speed change, with a third of the submissions supporting some speed changes if in combination with other road safety improvements.

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Mayor calls for SH5 upgrade

THE HASTINGS DISTRICT COUNCIL IS ANOTHER VOICE CALLING FOR

safety upgrades to SH5 rather than a blanket 80km/h speed limit.

The council is actively supporting road users and the communities living along SH5 who are calling for the highway to be upgraded.

“This speed reduction will severely impact our economy, as it is the main route between Hawke’s Bay and most of the North Island,” says Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst.

“Of concern is that lower speeds on a road which, in the main, is safely travelled at 100km/h will increase frustration, leading to riskier driver behaviour. This has occurred on other highways in the wake of speed reductions.

“Safety is our number one priority. However, we don’t believe a blanket speed reduction, with little to no investment on improving and maintaining what is supposed to be a State Highway, is the answer.

“Speed reductions at known crash hot spots should be introduced. But, that must be backed up by a comprehensive upgrade plan, with timelines and funding, that will address decades of underfunding and bring the road up to a standard that is safe for the traffic volumes of today,” says Mayor Hazlehurst. T&D

From left: Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, Hastings deputy mayor Tania Kerr, Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett, and truck driver Tony Alexander take a look at State Highway 5.

She says the Government should instead focus on improving the quality of the road.

Ms Upston says answers to Written Questions she submitted to the Minister of Transport on the SH5 are further proof that the Government should be prioritising a comprehensive upgrade of the State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, instead of simply lowering speed limits.

“In December 2021, I asked the Minister how many complaints he had received about the state highway over the past two years.

“Out of 59 complaints, five were about maintenance issues, nine for potholes and two for drainage.

“Even more concerning is previous responses by the Minister that revealed 2992 repairs to potholes during the past five years!

“Yet, despite the poor maintenance statistics, Waka Kotahi NZTA went ahead and decided to lower the speed limit for 76 kilometres on the SH5 instead of investing in urgent road maintenance, surface upgrades and safety features.

“The Government has demonstrated an absolute disregard for both the importance of this piece of road and the users of it,” Ms Upston says.

“This road is the only highway link between the central North Island and Hawke’s Bay region, making it particularly important for freight, including access to the Port of Napier and tourism.

“While lower speed limits can be helpful for more dangerous sections of roads, imposing it on most part of the road will only pile on additional costs in lost time and revenue for those responsible road users who already drive to the conditions and current limits.”

Ms Upston says National has committed to investing $300 million to improve the SH5 route, including the fast-tracking of safety projects. This includes an urgent upgrade to the surface, instead of repeated repairs to dangerous potholes.

“Significant safety issues also need to be addressed through a retrofitted median and roadside barrier, re-engineered and straightened dangerous corners, new passing lanes, widened shoulders, and safer turning opportunities.”

Ms Upston says she’s pleased the local community has joined her efforts to directly challenge the Government on their flawed decision.

“I’m working with Tony Alexander, advocate and a regular user of that piece of road as a truck driver, and Kiri Goodspeed who has initiated a parliamentary petition on the issue, to highlight the Government’s inaction on upgrading this piece of road. “I am planning two stakeholder meetings at both ends of the road in Taupō and Napier in coming weeks and will also be inviting NZTA, mayors and other regional community leaders to attend.

“While the evidence is clear that better, modern roads are safer, Labour has no plan and no funding to address the deficiencies.

“This road needs significant investment to save lives, bolster regional growth and improve journeys, particularly for truck drivers and tourists travelling in Hawke’s Bay.

“This is sensible, shovel-ready work that can get underway quickly, creating jobs and improving safety,” Ms Upston says.

“It’s about time the Government gets on with it and action National’s proposals to improve the poor condition of this road rather than just slowing everyone down.”

A recent achievement on SH5 has been the unprecedented results from the Police “Stay Alive on 5” campaign during 2021.

In its first 12 months of operation there were zero fatalities on the Hawke’s Bay side of the Napier–Taupō road.

Hawke’s Bay Police Highway Patrol officer Constable Steven Knox set up the ‘Stay Alive on 5’ campaign, launched in November 2020, after a notorious year of road crashes in 2019-2020 resulting in nine deaths on the Hawke’s Bay side.

Constable Knox says that while the zero fatalities statistic was obviously fantastic, the wider effect of an overall reduction in road crashes is just as important.

“For the period November 2020 to October 2021, there’s been a 72% decrease in crashes along State Highway 5 as a result of focused and targeted effort,” says Constable Knox.

The campaign has seen a significant increase in Police patrols on the road, with both marked and unmarked vehicles working in tandem, and the use of speed camera vans.

“Police presence on the road is a powerful deterrent to speeding and dangerous driving, such as risky overtaking manoeuvres. Speeding and bad decision-making on the road can have devastating consequences.”

The increased presence has resulted in a significant increase in traffic stops on the previous year. Police hope this will decrease as more road users get the message that Police have a new focus on road safety in this area, and change their behaviour accordingly. T&D