Most deadly NZ roads revealed in 5-year survey

[yungatart]

Jeez ... what is it with the Hawkes Bay??? The road into Napier from the south is #1 and the road north out of Napier is #3!!!

Ummm ... MSTRS? ... Yungatart? ... Zukin?

I really can't understand this one. It is not as though there really are heaps of accidents along either of thse roads. Neither road is "difficult" to negotiate either, so I guess it is just another example of people unable to drive.
More driver education needed....

That #1 killer road is the expressway between Napier and Hastings.

The one north from Napier has a problem with a junction just before you get to the airport. It is next in line for a multi million dollar fixup. (As soon as they have completed their study and got to the conclusion that yes, the intersection is poorly designed and some more bastards have died...)

It is not the Expressway. It is the coastal route through Clive. That is still considered SH 2 (Expressway is SH50)

The Airport intersection could be easily fixed with a huge big sign ...Reduce Speed. Major Intersection Ahead...as I have seen in Taupo and other places.
Not exactly rocket science is it??

[Hitcher]

Apparently SH53 is the most dangerous road in the Wellington region. Why? Because it is long, straight and has little traffic on it. These factors apparently conspire to make drivers go "faster" and to overtake in situations where they could collide with a vehicle going in the opposite direction. Lethal. Apparently. The fact that it rarely happens seems to have gone unnoticed by the Giant Brains of Transit. They could always install cheesecutter median barriers. Or judderbars. That would do it.

Dickheads and statistics should not be allowed to be alone with each other.

[Beemer]

Mmn, SH1 from Paraparaumu to Levin? And tell me again WHY they spent millions putting up wire rope barriers between Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay?

From memory, most of the fatal accidents along SH1 are due to driver error, not the road. Just the ones I can think of in the time I've lived in the Levin area - teenager doesn't give way at Manakau, loses control and collides with oncoming truck; two teenagers in a car with snow tyres lose control and collide with bridge; teenager falls asleep at wheel and hits tree; elderly couple pull out from gateway and get hit by oncoming traffic; elderly driver crosses centreline and hits oncoming vehicles; and there have been a few others where the driver either fell asleep, was overtaking in a dangerous place or they lost concentration and crossed the centreline into the path of oncoming traffic. All of those things could have happened at any time on any roads.

I have travelled SH1 literally thousands of times and although I have seen some pathetic instances of driving, I have never had an accident myself. Yungatart hit the nail on the head - it's not the roads that are dangerous, it's the drivers.

[MSTRS:Me]

In the culture of blame that we enjoy, it is apparent that it is the fault of every voter in the country.
After all, it was them who elected a government that allows Transit's engineers to exist, and LTNZ to control the road rules and allow drivers to operate 2+ wheeled missiles.
What annoys me is the practice of 'fixing' so-called dangerous roads. The reality is that only shifts the problem somewhere else, or creates a new situation (or reason) whereby motorists can kill each other.

[Pixie]

Oh,so the roads are the killers?
I won't have to be responsible for my driving now.

When the last vestige of responsiblity in New Zealand has been removed from the shoulders of the populace,let me know,turn off the lights and lock the door as you leave.

[RT527]

It's interesting that the Maramarua Rd doesn't even get a mention. I thought that was the "Killer Highway"?

I drive that road most days in my truck....and also respond to accidents in that area at times...And that highway being a killer highway and a terrible road are lies.....There is nothing wrong with the road, unfortunately its just after the motorway and people forget that and fail to drive accordingly.

[duckonin]

Absolute rubbish there is no such thing as a killer road, it's only the clowns that drive on them, they are the killers..

[MSTRS:Me]

I drive that road most days in my truck....and also respond to accidents in that area at times...And that highway being a killer highway and a terrible road are lies.....There is nothing wrong with the road, unfortunately its just after the motorway and people forget that and fail to drive accordingly.

We are well aware of that. It's no better or worse than any other 'main' road in the country. The term 'killer hw' is a media one, cos it's sensational. We know it's almost always driver error - I've never seen a road that attacked anyone - and probably caused mainly by frustration at slow drivers, or inattention. Same everywhere.
Put 2 lanes in each direction, one fast and one slow...seperate with a large median...put a barrier down the middle of the median...no intersections, etc. Drivers will still manage to kill themselves/others.

[Usarka]

So guess the Police on SH16 is nothing to do with safety then as SH16 does not get a mention.

It's not in the list because of the exemplary example of proactive enforcement.

[Clockwork]

I'm confused people. On the one hand we bitch about the state of our roads and how they've been under funded, poor visibility intersections, lack of safe passing opportunities, inconsistent signage, badly cambered bends and road surfaces and dangerous road "furniture".

But apparently there arn't any killer roads, its all about accepting personal responsibility for the fuck-up. Of course that's not much comfort if you're the fuckee rather than the fucker

[MSTRS:Me]

I'm confused people. On the one hand we bitch about the state of our roads and how they've been under funded, poor visibility intersections, lack of safe passing opportunities, inconsistent signage, badly cambered bends and road surfaces and dangerous road "furniture".

But apparently there arn't any killer roads, its all about accepting personal responsibility for the fuck-up. Of course that's not much comfort if you're the fuckee rather than the fucker

Yeah yeah....we just like to bitch. About anything.
Thing is, we notice poor examples of roading stuff, so can point them out. It is still our responsibility to negotiate hazards safely.

[Cruisin' Craig]

Personally, I wish people would report things properly.

Last night on the news that said they did their calculations by dividing the number of deaths on a given stretch of road by the length of the road. This gave them a number of deaths per kilometre.
It also said that the Napier-Hastings stretch has suffered six deaths in a five (or was it four?) year period.
So was that six fatal accidents?
Or did one van with six people crash and instantly catapault that stretch of road straight to the number one spot?
Either way that's too small a number of deaths and too short a time frame to be statistically significant.

Meanwhile that NZ Herald article says the calculations were based on the number of crashes on a given stretch of road. So which was it?
And is that fatal accidents? Or does putting a dent in your bumper count? I bet Lambton quay in Wellington would be right up there in terms of total accidents, but because you can't go fast there it would be very low in terms of deaths, so these details really make a difference.

I'm left having no idea what they are trying to tell me or whether I should take it seriously because of the incompetence of those reporting the findings.

[MSTRS:Me]

It's called "Statistics"...a method whereby one can 'prove' anything they want.
The Napier-Hastings road they refer to will be the Expressway, prior to the flyover at Meeanee Rd. Many accidents there because drivers failed to stop per the signs, then latterly failed to stop at the lights.
One 'accident' claimed 3 lives...5 possibly drunk teenagers, driver on restricted licence, 1am in the morning, ran the red light right in front of a fully laden B-train.
Locals are well pleased that there is a bridge/feeder lane complex now. Don't have huge (3-4kms at times) tailbacks at peak times.

[Beemer]

And don't forget that they count pedestrian deaths as road deaths if they are hit by a motor vehicle. From memory there were at least two in the Napier area where drunks were walking along the edge of the expressway and were hit by cars. That, my friends, has NOTHING to do with the quality of the road, just the amount of alcohol consumed by the moron who was hit.

[Str8 Jacket]

Im still waiting for them to publish a list of "NZ's most dangerous drivers"....