Engineer calls for urgent carpark checks after near-fatal accident.

A respected civil engineer has called for an urgent examination of New Zealand’s parking buildings, after the recent incident where a motorist drove straight off a four-storey carpark.

Structural engineer John Scarry says modern parking buildings are supposed to have effective barriers against cars that lose control, but not all buildings comply with modern engineering standards.

“You can make a pretty good case for immediately checking the barriers on every parking building in New Zealand. However, my immediate concern is barriers designed and constructed prior to 2002.”

“I don’t doubt that older parking buildings met the standards of the day, but the standards of the day may not be sufficient. Some older parking buildings appear to have no effective protection against a car being driven off the edge. In some cases there is little more than wire mesh to stop a possible fatal plunge off the building.”

“The accident in Newmarket is a clear warning - all existing barriers should be checked and replaced or upgraded where required, even on newer buildings.”

Scarry adds that city councils could use existing laws to force building owners to upgrade their carparks if the barriers were found to be inadequate.

“Sections 121 and 124 of the Building Act allow the territorial authorities to identify high-risk buildings and require immediate work to be done to reduce or remove the danger.”

Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson, who edits the car review website dogandlemon.com, believes accidents of this kind are likely to increase, along with our ageing population.

“Most modern cars are automatics, so, if you accidently select the wrong gear, you can end up flying forwards or backwards without much warning. This type of accident is common among the elderly and among inexperienced drivers.”

He adds:

“As a matter of common sense, parking buildings should be required to protect car occupants from common mistakes. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time before people die."

ENDS

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