New Zealand's first weather-activated road signs with adjustable speed limits will go live on State Highway 29 over the Kaimai Range next week.
The 22 variable signs, along with four web cameras, will be linked to a weather station at the summit, with speeds adjusted between 30km/h to 100km/h depending on conditions.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges with Transport Agency Chief Safety Adviser Colin Brodie. Photo: Tracy Hardy.
The speeds will be enforced by police once the trial goes live on Monday, November 2, at 9am.
Transport Agency Chief Safety Adviser Colin Brodie says: 'Our data shows that over 70 percent of the crashes on the Kaimai Range happen in wet weather, and that over 40 per cent of these were caused by drivers travelling too fast for the conditions.
'Despite the changeable weather on the Kaimai Range people still attempt to travel at 100km/h.
'We're developing a number of technologies to help people understand the need to drive at different speeds in different situations and conditions.
Colin admits the trial is largely about seeing how driver's behaviour changes, and will be reviewed via consensus with the police.
'They (the police) will have a presence up here on the Kaimias and they will use their own judgement about whether to give out warnings or infringement notices,” he says.
'The weather station and the fog sensors detect adverse weather conditions and send an alert to our Auckland Traffic Operating Centre, and once those conditions are confirmed via the web cams, they switch the system on.”
The system will run on a mixture of electricity, wind and solar power.
Tauranga MP and Transport Minister, Simon Bridges, says: 'It's a sign of the future of transport.
'We're trying to capture the benefits of smart technology to make driving better and safer. Over time I think we'll have an increasingly intelligent transport system.
'This system is about helping people understanding the conditions so they can drive more safely, and these variable signs, powered by renewable energy, will let drivers know what is safe.
'This is a two-year trial, but I'm confident it is going to do well. If we see the number of crashes come down, we'd really like to see it rolled out in other hot-spots around the country.”
For more information about the trial, click here.
A map of the trial site. Photo: NZTA.
8 comments
Waste
Posted on 30-10-2015 15:28 | By Austins543
What a waste of money... It's not the road it's the drivers, it's no ones fault for driving at 100 km/h when thats the speed limit through there. So even with variable speed signs it's not going to help at all.
Show me the figures!
Posted on 30-10-2015 17:46 | By Neiliies
I too believe this is an utter waste of money - I want to know how much this whole project including the monitoring is costing? This money should be being put towards the proper upkeep and improvement of road surfaces up there, a lot of it is very sub-standard (whoever the contractor was that did the last resurface by the Ngamuwahine bridge should be made to come back and fix the mess that they made there for nothing-it is dangerous and appalling!)
Down with negatives
Posted on 30-10-2015 19:20 | By Rinkles
Why do we always have to have negatives. Heads up to those who are trying something different. If speed is the main contributor then this should work !
one
Posted on 30-10-2015 22:01 | By Capt_Kaveman
should stop giving away easy licenses
Drivers...
Posted on 31-10-2015 00:49 | By GreertonBoy
Should know to slow down when the conditions are bad, but often they don't, in fact, often they speed up, the worse the conditions get?? As you said Austins, if the limit is 100kmh and a person recklessly does 95-100 in appauling conditions, the police cant book them for speeding, because they aren't. So, to reduce the speed limit is not only a good idea, it is the only foreseeable way to get drivers to slow down... because now, the police will be able to hit drivers in the hip pocket, to slow them down, to help protect you and me. This is a great idea, it works in other countries, hopefully it will work here.
Jane
Posted on 31-10-2015 07:27 | By Lovenews
Thinking caps on when you are behind the wheel. Cost effective technology reminders because we are human and thinking caps get full. Fair money for fair work and good quality contracts. Wouldnt that be great!!
Fix the road.
Posted on 31-10-2015 07:58 | By Robert
Like the Katikati Tauranga road this road needs replacing. Huge traffic and its still the goat track that it was 40 years ago. Bridges are well below standard and one day soon we will have a bridge collapse on one of these old bridges. A decent smash with two trucks will be all it takes. Add to those the Hairini and Maungatapu bridges and the Matamata bridges and its time some money was spent, especially with the port growth. Two narrow lane bridges just don't cut it on main highways anymore with 60 tonners. Still the current trend is to get us all down to 30 KPH everywhere rather than fix stuff. Wellington city is now going that way. soon everything will be walking pace with a red flag.
Awesome idea
Posted on 02-11-2015 11:41 | By Ben W
This is a great idea. The figures say it all. For some reason people use this road as a racetrack, they speed up and go crazy. Making them slow down in wet weather sounds like an easy fix for reducing crashes. I'm sure the cost is much less than the cost of a human life - looking forward to seeing the stats in a couple of years.
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