NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) will soon begin construction of two sets of average speed safety cameras to improve safety in Bay of Plenty.
Average speed safety cameras are being used by NZTA to reduce serious crashes along high-risk corridors and roads. The technology is internationally proven to be highly effective at reducing deaths and serious injuries on longer sections of road. The cameras work by calculating a vehicle’s average speed over a length of road between two cameras.
One pair will be installed on State Highway 2 (SH2) Pacific Coast Highway between Ōtamarākau and Matatā and the other on State Highway 5 (SH5) Explorer Highway, Tumunui south of Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty. Work will begin at both sites on Monday 14 July, and take three to four weeks to complete.
NZTA Head of Regulatory Strategic Programmes Tara Macmillan says speeding has a very real and devastating impact on communities.
“The types of crashes that happen, and are likely to happen, the volume of traffic, and driver behaviour all tell us that there is a serious risk of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes on these roads. We also know that risk can be significantly reduced if more people drive to the speed limit. By installing safety cameras, we can reduce the chance of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes on these roads.”
In June 2024, NZTA undertook a speed survey on this stretch of road that showed around 45 percent of drivers were speeding.
A new camera will be installed on SH2 near Herepuru Road (by Murphy’s Holiday Camp). The existing safety camera near Ōtamarākau on SH2 will be converted to an average speed camera.
In June 2024, NZTA undertook a speed survey on this stretch of road which showed around 47 percent of drivers were speeding.
One camera will be installed at approximately 126 Thermal Explorer Highway (SH5 – Rotorua end) and the other near 2028 Thermal Explorer Highway near Waimangu.
When installed, each pair of cameras will work together, measuring the average speed drivers travel between them. Drivers will only be ticketed if their average travel speed over the entire distance between a pair of cameras is over the limit – they aren’t ‘pinged’ by a single camera or at a single point where they are over the speed limit.
Initial construction works include installing underground power supplies, completing foundation works and installing metal barriers that will protect maintenance workers and any vehicle that leaves the road in a crash.
The poles and cameras will not be installed until later this year. Before the cameras begin operating ‘Average speed camera area’ signs will be installed, giving drivers a reminder to check their speed and slow down if needed.
NZTA is expecting to begin operating its first average speed safety cameras on SH1 at Matakana Road, Warkworth, later this year, and will progressively bring other average speed safety cameras online, including in the Bay of Plenty, in the following months.
