The government is ignoring its own scientists, says safety campaigner

Twice in a week, cars have accidentally crossed the centre line and collided with trucks, killing their occupants.

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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11591789

Dogandlemon.com editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:

"Both accidents could have been prevented if the roads had had median barriers. Both accidents would probably have been far less severe if there hadn't been a truck in the other lane."

"Many of New Zealand's roads are like a staircase without a handrail: you make the slightest mistake and you're going to get hurt."

“The roads in question were easily wide enough for median barrier installation. Yet there were no median barriers, and now there are more dead motorists.”

Matthew-Wilson is increasingly frustrated by what he calls “the government ignoring its own scientists.”

“The government’s own studies^[1] show that median barriers are highly effective at preventing head-on collisions, so why does the government not prioritise their installation?”

A wire rope barrier was installed along a 10km stretch south of Paekakariki in 2005. In the 20 years before it was installed, head-on collisions claimed about 40 lives and around 120 people were seriously injured.

Since the wire rope median barrier was installed, the serious accidents stopped overnight^[2].

Matthew-Wilson is also concerned at the increasing number of accidents involving trucks.

“The number of road deaths involving trucks has nearly doubled since 1980 and has increased every year since larger trucks were allowed in 2010.  Yet, the government is now proposing even larger trucks. This is simply madness.”

“Trucks make up just 2.5% of the vehicle fleet, yet, in 2014 (the latest available statistics), 67 people died and a further 772 were injured in road crashes involving trucks. This was 23% of all deaths and 7% of all reported injuries on our roads. That’s more people than were killed by speeding.”

“The government is predicting that freight across New Zealand's roads is going to increase by 78% in the next 25 years, This, inevitably, will mean more dead bodies.”

Matthew-Wilson says the government’s plans simply don’t make sense.

“One locomotive can haul many times the load of a big rig truck and trailer, with far less risk to road users.”

“Long haul freight trucks are not only a serious road hazard, but they’re often unnecessary. The government’s own studies show that transporting goods by sea freight and rail is far more efficient than transporting goods by truck.”

“Obviously, we can’t do without essential services such as rural stock trucks and milk tankers, but we can do without most of the long-haul freight trucks using public roads.”

“I’m not attacking truck drivers, who are generally highly skilled and courteous to other motorists. I’m attacking the system that effectively pits cars and trucks against each other. Often the truck driver is not at fault, but when a car and a truck collide, size wins.”

“The government’s attempts to justify adding larger trucks to our roads do not stack up, unless you’re one of the trucking companies. It’s shameful that the government allows the trucking industry to run government policy, against the interests of most New Zealanders.”

“If we moved long-haul freight onto rail, and electrified the network, we would drastically reduce the road toll, drastically reduce pollution and reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.”