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No Word on Road Toll Plan

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By ESPINER, Colin

Police and transport safety officials are confident they have a plan to meet the Government's target of slashing the road toll to 300 by 2010 -- but they will not say what it is.

Transport ministry and Land Transport New Zealand officials met police yesterday to discuss how to achieve a Government directive that they reduce the carnage on the roads by a quarter within four years.

The meeting took place against a backdrop of a horror start to 2006, with 23 dead in the first two weeks, compared with 11 this time last year. But officials denied they were in a crisis, pointing to the lowest road toll last year since 1963.

Transport Ministry land safety manager Martin Small said after the meeting that New Zealanders deserved "a pat on the back" for last year's road toll of 405, and the job was to build on the progress made.

Small said officials were confident they could meet the target of 300 fatalities, but agreed this could be achieved only if changes were made to current practices. He refused to outline what proposals were discussed, saying a report would go to Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven and it was up to the Government to make decisions on policy.

He confirmed speculation that particular attention would be paid to safety at intersections and tougher laws surrounding learner and restricted drivers. Small denied media reports that police were planning to issue more speeding tickets.

However, officials are thought to be focusing on ways to reduce open-road speeds in certain circumstances, particular during bad weather and on country roads.

National road policing manager Superintendent Dave Cliff said given that a certain number of vehicle collisions was inevitable, the slower the impact speed the less likelihood of death or injury.

"It's getting into people's minds that they don't have to travel at 100kmh. That's the maximum speed. They should think about driving to the conditions," he said.

"It's trying to get them to understand that this year at the current rates, we're due to kill another 380 people. That's more than one a day will die and it's kind of a game of Russian roulette as to who they'll be."

Cliff said he had left yesterday's meeting satisfied officials had a plan to cut fatalities that included a mix of tougher enforcement and driver education.

Meanwhile, the Government has announced it will consider an amendment to a new law that strips bus and taxi drivers convicted of even the most moderate of sex offences of their passenger licences.

Changes to the Land Transport Act mean bus and taxi drivers convicted of murder, or a sex offence punishable by more than seven years prison, will be banned from carrying passengers.

The law change has caught some taxi drivers convicted of having underage sex with their girlfriends many years ago.

It may also apply to drivers convicted of homosexual activity before it became legal in New Zealand.

Source: Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand

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