From the week beginning 17 June, people who speed on State Highway 1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa can expect to receive a notice from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
Tara Macmillan, NZTA Head of Regulatory Strategic Programmes says the new safety camera will improve safety for the community and people who travel on this high risk stretch of road.
“Between 2018 and 2023, 5 people were killed and 6 were seriously injured in crashes on this section of highway. Speeding is not safe.
“In addition to the statistics and technical aspects of the road, we know there is also a strong desire from the local community to see people slow down. This is one way we can try to achieve this.”
Roddy Pihema, Chair of Taumatamākuku Community, the closest village to the camera, says switching the camera on will help give peace of mind to Taumatamākuku and the wider community.
“I’ve had 6 families who have lost loved ones on our roads come up to me to say they all needed this camera. It’s about protecting life and keeping everyone safe.”
Ngāti Hine is the tribal authority within which the camera is located. Mike Butler, Ngāti Hine spokesperson says that even a small change to reducing speed makes a big difference to the risk of deaths or serious injuries when a crash happens, “and we feel it as a community.”
“Let's move forward together as whānau. By reducing our speed, we protect our community's life force."
The speed survey run by NZTA in April and May last year showed that around 40% vehicles were traveling too fast.
“For every kilometre people travel over the speed limit, they significantly increase their risk of both having a crash and being injured or killed.
“We don’t want to be issuing notices or fines. The ideal outcome is that people make safe choices by not speeding” says Tara Macmillan.
Temporary mobile variable message sign (VMS) boards go up shortly letting drivers know of the upcoming enforcement. Permanent ‘safety camera area’ signs will be unveiled as the cameras ‘switch on’.
Safety camera area signs are designed to remind people to check their speed and slow down if needed. These signs aren’t used in areas where mobile cameras are operating or when Police officers are enforcing speed limits.
People can still expect to see mobile safety cameras and Police anywhere, anytime.
Editors note:
The camera will only detect speeding. It originally had Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) functionality. We’ve removed this as its not needed here. ANPR is used for average-speed safety cameras, which require two images to be matched to work out the average speed a vehicle has travelled at. This camera is not capable of detecting mobile phone or seatbelt use, body heat signatures or facial recognition.
