How 678 Speeding Violations By The Boss Went Unnoticed At ECan

Friday, 11 October 2024, 7:38 pm
Article: Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter

Organisational failure saw Environment Canterbury fail to reprimand the chairperson after he clocked almost 700 speeding incidents.

That's what the council are saying after chairperson Peter Scott, who has now stepped down, exceeded the speed limit in a council-provided car 678 times since January, with a top speed of 157kph.

In the fallout, ECan has been left to explain how Scott racked up so many speed limit breaches over nine months without any action taken.

An ECan spokesperson said historically the monitoring reports were screened monthly and shared with managers "should their staff have any speeding recorded".

The issue was that the chairperson "doesn't have a line manager to share the information with".

"It was only when a new senior staff member asked for a report to be run [on September 17] and they reviewed all the data that the chair's data came to light.

"It was immediately acted upon."

ECan chief executive Stefanie Rixecker was notified of the breaches on September 18, with Scott then approached by the media when his speeding revelations emerged on September 19.

An under-pressure Scott then relinquished the council car before also standing down as chairperson, while also resigning as chairperson of the Canterbury regional transport committee.

Scott's speeding issues would have been an embarrassment for he and ECan, which has a fleet of around 170 vehicles that are all tracked.

"Anything over the speed limit will register on the speeding report," the ECan spokesperson said.

Speeding is categorised as minor, moderate, or excessive depending on the amount over the speed limit and other criteria set out in the motor vehicle and drive policy, they said.

"Conversations are had between managers and their staff as and when needed throughout the year."

At the Ashburton District Council, chief executive Hamish Riach said there was a stringent monitoring process of the council fleet, except for the mayor's vehicle.

"The mayor opted to have a council vehicle at the start of the term to reduce the cost to the council and eliminate all the administration associated with reimbursements,'' Riach said.

"He agreed to a salary reduction to allow for occasions when this vehicle is also used privately. For this reason, it is not tracked.

"When on council business, elected members can either use their own vehicles and get reimbursed for the distance travelled or use our shared fleet."

The council has a fleet of 50 vehicles, including nine hybrids, but not all are GPS tracked.

The shared fleet vehicles use an electronic management system, called EROAD, which monitors work location and speed, Riach said.

"We monitor reports on driver behaviour across the business on a fortnightly basis and where there is any concern, we speak to the driver.

"If concerning driver behaviour is repetitive, then we use a more formal process and provide relevant training.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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