Average-speed cameras about changing long-term driver behaviour – Editorial
Introducing average-speed cameras on high-risk stretches of road is a welcome tool in our ongoing fight to reduce road fatalities in New Zealand.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has introduced cameras in 17 areas this year since the first one was deployed on Matakana Rd in Auckland in December.
Another set is to be installed on State Highway 1 between Bulls and Hunterville next month.
Average-speed cameras calculate a vehicle’s speed over a length of road by measuring the time it takes to travel between two cameras, rather than the vehicle’s speed at one point in time.
Drivers are ticketed only if their average speed across the entire section is over the limit.
If the purpose of speed cameras is to regulate driver behaviour and therefore improve road safety, then this is a much better option.
It will force speedy drivers to moderate their behaviour over long stretches of road, rather than look to avoid being caught speeding at a moment in time.
It also saves punishing otherwise sensible drivers whose speed inadvertently drifts for a second.
This will lead to meaningful and hopefully long-term changes to the way we drive.
And all the evidence suggests it is much needed.
That one 30.9km stretch of road between Bulls and Hunterville has had 23 deaths and serious injuries since 2019.
A survey from July 27 to August 4 found 25% of vehicles exceeded the speed limit.
“The types of crashes, traffic volumes and driver behaviour all point to speed being a key contributing factor,” NZTA head of driving regulation Chris Rodley said.
The big picture suggests New Zealand is making progress on road safety.
But it is not time for complacency.
The 258 fatalities in the year to date are tracking up on the previous two.
Road deaths in Whanganui are on track for a five-year high.
Speaking before Labour weekend, Northland Road Safety Trust education programme manager Ashley Johnston said the road toll was a reminder that road safety should be a priority and there are more factors than speed.
“We know that factors such as alcohol, speed, non-restraint use and poor judgment continue to contribute to serious crashes in our region,” she said.
Road safety is about more than one weekend or moment in time. It’s about encouraging good driving all the time.
Average-speed cameras will do this.