Candor Press release

Transit's inaction on highway toll despicable

The latest fatal crash on the Kapita killing fields has prompted renewed calls for investment in a median barrier. On a 4.5 kilometre stretch of highway which has claimed seven lives expendable in Transit's eyes in as many years. But to view this as just a local issue does it an injustice, say Candor Trust.

Transits commitment to fuelling the road toll is clear by the fact they are participating in irresponsible experimentation on road users lives elsewhere. A centreline rumble strip study is taking place in the Waikato.

Researchers have cameras set up to record the inevitable road deaths that will occur as a result of the incredibly cheap halfpie measure experiment.

Similar experimentation has occurred in Kentucky and failed, as it only increased deaths from head-ons. In that experiment the drivers were given even less of a handicap than here as no outer road rumbles were placed so as to force you to hug the centreline.

Kentucky nevertheless did not give up and has allocated another $75,000 to do a rerun of the experiment beginning 2005/11/2 in the hope of better results.

Failing that, the poorer states which are not resolved to provide safe infrastructure may be able to cite more successful results from New Zealand where cops are heavily Policing the Waikato experimental zone, perhaps to assist the experiments 'success' duruing the duration of it's life.

Candor says NZ should be ashamed for letting ourselves be experimented upon. We are risherthan most OECD lands yet spend less than 21 of 23 surveyed countries on roads, while Government has a long term habit of siphoning off petrol taxes to non road related purposes.

A literature review by TRB (NHRCB synthesis 339) revealed some studies show increased crashes and tolls result from use of CLRS (centre line rumbles).

'Two highway sections where CLRS were used are described in NCHRP report 440 without naming the State or area. The first was a principal Highway for which a 2 year before and 2 year after installation study did not show any significant crash reduction'.

The second highway had several opposite direction crashes likely as the result of passing manoeuvres. The State provided crash data for 1 year before and 1 year after installtion which showed a 23% reduction in total crashes.

But most of the reduction was in rear end crashes which was likely unrelated to the CLRS installation. These are the sorts of studies Transit used to sneak our experiment in under our noses.

TRB's literature review concludes by saying available data are insufficient to make any conclusions about reductions in fatal crashes. The only measure that is acceptable is dividers, says Candor.

'We need to think of the cost savings of converting fatal crashes that constantly block major arterials to minor injury crashes' spokesperson Ed Radley said today.

Fulton Hogan took only 20 minutes to repair 30 metres of collapsed median barrier on the killer Kapiti highway recently after a car collided with the barrier. The driver walked away from what could have been a deadly accident. Constable Keith Reay in an earlier interview explained how the Northbound vehicle careered over the rumble strips before hitting the barrier. The car was moderately damaged and needed towing but the driver escaped injury, he reported. Candor note that the rumble strips were not enough to turn the driver back on course.

In Colorado rumble strips on a 27km stretch only reduced head-on fatalities from 18-14 - not something Candor feel it's admirable to aspire to when solutions do exist. Median dividers which the World Bank makes clear in its world report are the most economic long term solution.

Transit's excuses for inaction - their grizzling over initial outlays for median barriers and their prevaricating that there will always be crashes because of driver error are utter gobbledygook.

'The fact they are leaving the 4.5km of proven killing ground north of McKays Crossing, is simply tantamount to conspiring to kill us. Taxpayers should not suffer the most traumatic death possible just because the centreline is not divided, and that goes for any major highway.'

'The big picture is that every one of our main arterials is substandard and needs extensive median dividers. We should not talking in 4 km increments but rather of doing 400km of median dividers per year, every year for the next 10'.

'At the end of 10 years we could be saving up to 2 billion a year in social costs of road crashes - perpetually. If the fact they are killing a couple of hundred real live humans by negligence yearly isn't a concern to Labour, perhaps the fact a mega high preventable crash epidemic is a blight on our eonomy should concern them'.

'It's Cave Creek all over. But since the preventable disaster happens in a scattered way the outrage gets diffused and people kept mostly unaware of the alternatives are desensitised - until they join the large minority affected '.

The Police Association is on record saying that major engineering projects not greater enforcement is the way of the future. People might be less reasured by seeing frequent alcohol checkpoints given the awareness Police test us at 24x the rate U.K. cops test drivers. All so we can have double the U.K.s per capita toll.

ENDS

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