Dome Valley 80kph speed limit

[eliot-ness]

From today the Dome Valley will have an 80kph limit. Looks like it's going to be permanent. You can bet the cops will be out in force for the first few weeks so keep your eyes peeled, or take the scenic route up H16.

[The Stranger]

From today the Dome Valley will have an 80kph limit. Looks like it's going to be permanent. You can bet the cops will be out in force for the first few weeks so keep your eyes peeled, or take the scenic route up H16.

Well done Transit, you certainly corrected that road engineering problem.
We can look forward to the problems being moved along a little and the same correction being applied there too.

[Finn]

Well done Transit, you certainly corrected that road engineering problem.
We can look forward to the problems being moved along a little and the same correction being applied there too.

Easily fixed... 60 Kph limit.

[Mom]

No it will be fine at 80 kph, they have installed cheese cutter barriers on the left hand side of the road which has improved the road safety hugely.

[SPman]

So - next time I'm back in the country, I may as well just use a pushbike?????
Its the only tiny bit of road in that area of SH1 that keeps you sane......

[nodrog]

...You can bet the cops will be out in force for the first few weeks so keep your eyes peeled...

i will be going through there tommorow, wish them luck :scooter:

[RC1]

i will be going through there tommorow, wish them luck :scooter:

doing 80 of course :rofl:

[nodrog]

doing 80 of course :rofl:

of course officer :Police:

[The Stranger]

i will be going through there tommorow, wish them luck :scooter:

Yeah, if they couldn't catch you through the Karangahake Gorge how the hell they going to get you through Dome Valley.

[nodrog]

Yeah, if they couldn't catch you through the Karangahake Gorge how the hell they going to get you through Dome Valley.

its not my farkin fault they were rooting in the rest area, and i wasnt speeding, my bike is just loud.

[Unit]

good to know thanks for the heads up, seeing as I go through there every month dont need another polite warning :Police:

[Bren]

I say good on em...That is not the best of roads and it may take a reduction in speed limit to reduce accidents there. The same speed limit is being used in other dangerous areas e.g around Kaikoura and also in Kapiti.

Good on em

[eliot-ness]

I say good on em...That is not the best of roads and it may take a reduction in speed limit to reduce accidents there. The same speed limit is being used in other dangerous areas e.g around Kaikoura and also in Kapiti.

Good on em

Nothing wrong with the road. Good surface, wide, no tight corners. I ride it regularly in all weathers and at speeds above the 100 limit. never had a problem. A lot of the accidents have been the direct result of diesel spill from logging trucks, others from driver incompetence or impatience. I don't remember any serious bike accidents in the 14 years I've lived up here.

[DMNTD]

I say good on em...That is not the best of roads and it may take a reduction in speed limit to reduce accidents there. The same speed limit is being used in other dangerous areas e.g around Kaikoura and also in Kapiti.

Good on em

Are you high and if so change your dealer man cause you're on some bad shit! <_<
The road is fine,never have had an issue with that road...ever!
Surely you've mistaken the road
It's the attitudes need to change!

I'll be riding it tomorrow too...100 demerits to sort out :woohoo:

[Mom]

I say good on em...That is not the best of roads and it may take a reduction in speed limit to reduce accidents there. The same speed limit is being used in other dangerous areas e.g around Kaikoura and also in Kapiti.

Good on em

Hey there

Interesting spin there. I have lived up this way for 30 years now and used to do the Dome as a daily commute back in its worst days. That road is no more dangerous than any other poorly designed piece of tarmac in NZ. I have seen it through many changes/widenings/realignments/road marking changes/god help us cheese cutter barriers on the LEFT!!!!!!

I have never had a problem through there, ever! It deserves respect certainly. For me these days it is all about avoiding the dickhead drivers that have not learned which side of the road we drive on, and the mess left behind by the "who gives a fuck" diesel spilling truck drivers, and the simply unskilled drivers that we see out on the road these days.

Head north, 80kph is stealthily being put in places all over. Wont be long before all roads will be at this "safe" revenue gathering speed!

[sunhuntin]

where abouts is this road, exactly?

[Bren]

where abouts is this road, exactly?
Dome Valley starts just north of Warkworth on SH1 heading towards Wellsford.
When I lived up that way back in the late 80s to early 90s it was a road I hated.
I drove it also at the start of this year. Yes it has improved but is still a stretch I believe that needs some caution.

[Bren]

Are you high and if so change your dealer man cause you're on some bad shit! <_<
The road is fine,never have had an issue with that road...ever!
Surely you've mistaken the road
It's the attitudes need to change!

I'll be riding it tomorrow too...100 demerits to sort out :woohoo:

gee thanks for the psych report there....I DON'T DO DRUGS, I HAVE NOT MISTAKEN THE ROAD......and yes I do agree its attitudes that need to change....Attitudes towards speeding, reckless driving/riding etc and attitudes toward other road users!
Get a grip man, either ya drive/ride to survive or we will be reading your name in the obituaries...

[kb_SF1]

The road is ok as far as our roads go, 80 ks will become a revenue gathering exercise with no thought to road safety or improvement.

[Drum]

I used to be a crash investigator in Auckland and I lost track of the number of callouts to the Dome Valley. Don't recall ever going to one that involved a bike though. Majority were inappropriate overtaking and drivers losing control/ cornering too fast. Problem is that there is no runoff area - i.e. If you leave the road you hit a tree - no room for error.

Reducing the speed limit may be inconvenient for bikers, but I would wager a months salary that the number of cage crashes decreases.

[swbarnett]

drive/ride to survive
This I will never do! Just surviving is for automotons. I choose to ride to LIVE!

[swbarnett]

Problem is that there is no runoff area - i.e. If you leave the road you hit a tree - no room for error.
And this is, of course, why they put cheese cutters on the left. I'd rather tackle a tree.


Reducing the speed limit may be inconvenient for bikers, but I would wager a months salary that the number of cage crashes decreases.
You could be right but I doubt it. The problem is impatience, not speed. slowing down the majority of traffic is only going to make the impatient idiots even more impatient.

[Drum]

.... The problem is impatience, not speed. slowing down the majority of traffic is only going to make the impatient idiots even more impatient.

Hence the inappropriate overtaking, but experience shows that reducing the speed limit almost always reduces both the likelihood and severity of crashes (for cages anyway). Time will tell.

[swbarnett]

Hence the inappropriate overtaking, but experience shows that reducing the speed limit almost always reduces both the likelihood and severity of crashes (for cages anyway). Time will tell.
I honestly hope you're right. If it does turn out that way it'd be interesting to figure out the mechanism.

Just thinking... The idiot overtaking on a blind corner will do the same speed regardless of speed limit. If you're slower coming around the bend toward them it will still be easier to avoid the head-on. Food for thought...

[T.I.E]

bloody taking the fun out of every road.
i used to live in Mahurangi west Rd. id ride the road through to wenderholm, hatsfields then orewa when the road was 100kph. oh so much fun was had, then it went down to 80kph because of the aucklanders not knowing what to do when they came to a corner. Yes im an EX JAFA. but still a jafa.
i used to pick up people off the side of barriers and the ones trying to drive into the sea. some of the accidents were nasty.
Then the limit dropped to 80kph. but i was still picking them up i didnt notice the accident rate drop, all though im sure it did.
bring back 100kph. the dome is, was so much fun. :crybaby:

[Drum]

....
Then the limit dropped to 80kph. but i was still picking them up i didnt notice the accident rate drop, all though im sure it did.....

Yeah, it did - by around 20 to 30% if I remember correctly. Thereby setting the precedent.

Incidentally, rear wheel drive V6 and V8 vehicles were heavily over represented in crashes in the "Windy Ridge" area you are talking about. Perhaps reinforcing your Jafa comment.

[The Stranger]

Reducing the speed limit may be inconvenient for bikers, but I would wager a months salary that the number of cage crashes decreases.

Oh I am sure you are correct, however, if they drop it to 70 they will probably decrease the number of crashes even further hell why not 60 or 50.

My pont was, what exactly is our open road speed limit?
Sure they put this section down to 80kph (like so many spots before), then if it is effective, somewhere else becomes the top of the hit list and gets slapped with the fix - and so on and so on.
There is nothing to say they that once they are done getting 80kph everywhere and dome moves back to the top of the list they wont start on a round of 60kph stretches.
Transit are only too aware of the specific engineering problems there, they need to fix the problems, not band aid them.

[maxlev]

Can't say I've noticed anything dangerous about this road in the 30 years I have been regularly travelling over it on 2 wheels.

Oh hang on, I did run wide once on the left hander (with the bump) heading north just past the big Purriri tree. But it was on a TT100 shod Kwaka 500 triple, or was it the Titan 500, one or the other.

But if a reduction makes it easier for cage operators to txt and rummage around in the glove box then LTSA may feel happier.

Any road can be dangerous if you are not observant and aware of you surroundings, aint that right Andy Knackstead.

[DMNTD]

gee thanks for the psych report there....I DON'T DO DRUGS, I HAVE NOT MISTAKEN THE ROAD......and yes I do agree its attitudes that need to change....Attitudes towards speeding, reckless driving/riding etc and attitudes toward other road users!
Get a grip man, either ya drive/ride to survive or we will be reading your name in the obituaries...

Well maybe you should try drugs then because if you think that that road was dangerous when ridden/driven at 100kmph then you're mad...or can't ride well enough to be safe on our roads which makes YOU the danger,not the road.

[Ascott]

What DMNTD, said. can't them quote thingies.

[Ascott]

"do" after can't

[Bren]

Well maybe you should try drugs then because if you think that that road was dangerous when ridden/driven at 100kmph then you're mad...or can't ride well enough to be safe on our roads which makes YOU the danger,not the road.
i have not had or been in an accident for over 20 years...i am a cautious driver/rider...I am not a danger to anyone...the facts are that dome valley, kapiti coast and kaikoura coast have a higher accident rate than most other areas, so that obviously says they are more dangerous than most other roads. I can happily handle the roads, but then some people can not!
One of the things to consider is that they are all on SH1, so therefore all the loopies on holiday and all the tourists drive on em....people that don't know the road.

[MSTRS]

....people that don't know the road.

What has that got to do with it? The inability to drive is the big factor.
Lets keep dumbing it down until even those that can drive lose the ability through lack of practice.

[pzkpfw]

...the facts are that dome valley, kapiti coast and kaikoura coast have a higher accident rate than most other areas, so that obviously says they are more dangerous than most other roads.

That statement could be taken two ways.

That there are more accidents in an area means the road is more dangerous - sure; but is it the road or the people or types of traffic that make it dangerous?



I can happily handle the roads, but then some people can not!

Here you are clearer.

The thing is it's annoying to the people who don't have trouble at 100km to have to reduce speed due to the others. (yeah, yeah, we all make mistakes and we all have our accident rate reduce at lower speeds...)

It's all still a trade-off though. As was said: "why not 70? or 60? or 50?".

Somebody says "at 80, we'll still have people crash - but a more acceptable number."

All the enojoyable roads around Wellington have been reduced...


("Enjoyable"? How dare I enjoy riding! I should go really slow everywhere and simply ride to get to B from A.)

[yungatart]

It would be nice if, instead of reducing the speed limit in a vain and futile attempt to reduce the crash rate, Transit/government/LTSA or whoever would increase driver training and education, thereby increasing driver skill level.

Also, it would benefit our road using population hugely, if it was more difficult to get a licence, if one actually had to show skill, common sense and ability in a variety of demanding situations, before one was given the "piece of paper".

[oldrider]

Typical socialist solution to any problem.

One person can't manage so restrict everyone else down to that level.

This is the formula that they use to dumb us down to the lowest common denominator.(mediocrity in motion)

Lets restrict all our roads to 50kph that will really be good for the statistics and the economy wont it! Fucking idiots! :mad: John.

[MSTRS]

Lets restrict all our roads to 50kph ....

Ooooh, you speed demon, you killer of children
Resurrected career imminent...red flag carrier

[eliot-ness]

i have not had or been in an accident for over 20 years...i am a cautious driver/rider...I am not a danger to anyone...the facts are that dome valley, kapiti coast and kaikoura coast have a higher accident rate than most other areas, so that obviously says they are more dangerous than most other roads. I can happily handle the roads, but then some people can not!
One of the things to consider is that they are all on SH1, so therefore all the loopies on holiday and all the tourists drive on em....people that don't know the road.

Let's get this into perspective. The dome Valley has had 18 fatal accidents in 10 years, considering the amount of traffic it carries that's not a large number.
Accidents are not confined to holiday makers or tourists, many involve local drivers who travel the road daily, and occur Monday to Friday.
Trucks are involved in a disproportionate number of fatal and non fatal accidents, and those drivers are professionals.
Most accidents seem to occur after dark and in bad weather, nothing unusual about that.
All of which points to temporary glitches, oil spills, mud, bad visibility, heavy rainor mist, with maybe mechanical faults, bad tyres etc in the mix.
In a recent crack down on trucks in the Rodney area 80% were found to have mechanical faults, Nearly 20% were so serious that the trucks were taken off the road immediately, yet these monsters, with loads of 40 tons or more travel at the same speeds as bikes and cars down the hill. in the area where most accidents occur.
In comparison to SH16 the Dome should be the safest of the two, wider, and with only two corners where you have to drop below 100ks.

On a less serious note. [Quote] The City Impact Church held prayer meetings and erected reflective angels on the roadside to try and reduce crashes, claiming success along with Transit NZ which initiated many safety improvements this year.[Quote] If these 'improvements' were succesful, why the 80k limit?

(Sorry John. You can't blame the government for this one. It's a Rodney council initiative in conjunction with Transit.)

[sunhuntin]

Typical socialist solution to any problem.

One person can't manage so restrict everyone else down to that level.

This is the formula that they use to dumb us down to the lowest common denominator.(mediocrity in motion)

Lets restrict all our roads to 50kph that will really be good for the statistics and the economy wont it! Fucking idiots! :mad: John.

you wait... it wont be long before that does happen! gotta protect the retards from themselves dont ya know!

[jonbuoy]

Its made dangerous by the selfish retarded fuckwit commuters who put their faith in whatever god they think is going to protect them from overtaking on blind corners, and the equally retarded bloody minded fools who floor it or don't move over to let people overtake on passing lanes.

[oldrider]

(Sorry John. You can't blame the government for this one. It's a Rodney council initiative in conjunction with Transit.)

While I agree with everything you said, I wasn't actually singling out the central government this time.

I was blaming "socialists" from every walk of life.

You mentioned a few of them yourself, churchy do gooders, unionists, school teachers, broken down ministers of religion, meddling lawyers, (like Peter Williams) University lecturers, New Zealand is full of the buggers.

They are the people who are shagging the country up IMHO. :shutup: Rant over!

I thought your comments on the subject of the thread were right on the button. :yes: Cheers John.

[nodrog]

I say good on em...That is not the best of roads and it may take a reduction in speed limit to reduce accidents there. The same speed limit is being used in other dangerous areas e.g around Kaikoura and also in Kapiti.

Good on em

why do they need to lower the speed limit? last time i checked the limit was the maximum speed you could do, not the minimum! just because some farkin knobs keep crashing because they are not driving to the conditions or their abilities, the rest of us have to put up with the ridiculous reduction of speed limits around the country. the way things are going it is going to take months to travel the length of the country at the posted speed limit.

[Swoop]

of course officer :Police:
Would you like a box of Mangatinoka's finest with that...?

i have not had or been in an accident for over 20 years...
Just an observation here. You are riding a 250? Restricted still? Just asking.

[Bren]

Would you like a box of Mangatinoka's finest with that...?

Just an observation here. You are riding a 250? Restricted still? Just asking.


never upgraded.....been on full car for bloody ages but never upgraded bike lic....have ridden a lot of bikes larger than 250 but dont tell that to the boys in blue

[Morcs]

I never knew there was any speed limit on that road... :innocent:

[Swoop]

never upgraded.....been on full car for bloody ages but never upgraded bike lic....have ridden a lot of bikes larger than 250 but dont tell that to the boys in blue
Why not?
There appears to be more and more people who haven't "upgraded" their licence (even though entitled to - aparently) and have encountered grief.

Sounds a bit silly really.

[Unit]

if they drop it to 70 they will probably decrease the number of crashes even further hell why not 60 or 50.

And they keep selling us bikes that go faster than warp speed :scratch:. They might even get it to the stage that on some corners, we will have to get off and push our bikes around. At least central government are proposing higher age for Learner license (16 yrs), and a total alcohol ban until aged 20 (I think it is), and that I agree with, and in line with what Aussie has been practicing for some time.