The NZ Transport Agency has set aside a $25 million investment to improve safety for visiting drivers through the 2015-2018 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
“The Transport Agency is working hard to deliver on the Government’s goal of improving safety for all road users through the Visiting Drivers Project, and this investment will help to achieve that goal,” says Jim Harland, the Transport Agency’s Southern Regional Director and Chair of the Visiting Drivers Project Governance Group.
Mr Harland said the $25m in NLTP funding would be targeted across three broad categories:
The on-the-ground investment for state highways and local roads will be directed to key visitor journeys in Otago, Southland and the West Coast. In the future, successful initiatives could be replicated in other parts of the country with high numbers of visitor drivers.
The engineering programme currently being developed by the NZ Transport Agency is likely to include further edge-line rumble strips, improved rest area signage, more ‘keep left’ lane arrows, possible further no-passing lines, barriers and shoulder widening where feasible.
Mr Harland said the safety work funded by the $25m NLTP investment would be in addition to work already underway as part of the Government’s Visiting Drivers Project, including training for overseas tourism operators, in-flight road safety information and a Code of Practice for rental vehicle operators.
Further information on the Visiting Drivers Project(external link).
