3 March 2005

Roading Companies Offer Dob-In Line

Ever been frustrated around road works?

Ever looked at speed restriction signs around road works, observed there are no road workers in sight and figured the Stop/Go guy has gone home, left the signs out by mistake and you can speed through the area same as usual?

You’re not alone. It’s a problem the roading industry has identified and acknowledged.

“People figure if they can’t see road works actually happening, there are no hazards. They couldn’t be more wrong,” says Murray Brown, general manager strategic development from Works Infrastructure and manager of a new, major Safety Around Roadworks campaign launched recently by Roading New Zealand.

“The trouble is, that on many occasions, the speeds restrictions are still essential while recent road works settle even if no road workers are in sight. Loose metal and soft surfaces can be real traps. Speed in these conditions can be fatal – as our road workers, who have to clean up the mess after accidents, can testify.”

While in the majority of cases, speed restriction signs are realistic warnings, the industry has put its hand up, and conceded that in a few instances, speed restrictions signs are inadvertently left out when the hazard is past.

“The old ‘cry wolf’ story is as true as it ever was. So because we don’t want New Zealand drivers to think speed restrictions around unmanned road sites are irrelevant or don’t apply to them, we’ve set up a website where they can log in and say where they believe the signs are out of date or unnecessary,” Mr Brown says.

The website is www.slowdown.co.nz

“Road works speed restrictions are not there to annoy or frustrate motorists. Road works are undertaken to make the roads safer. Our workers are working to make the roads safer for motorists; we want them to ensure the road works aren’t themselves the cause of accidents,” Mr Brown says.

ENDS

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