Two lives — 21 seconds

In response to Petition used ‘shonky’ data (February 21):

The Kawakawa Business and Community Association wrote to the then Minister of Transport, Simon Bridges, in 2017, some 18 months before, re, the three bridges northern approach having a speed limit as set by NZTA of 100km/ hour, being within 20 metres of the entrance to Temuri early education centre, and the fact that the road law changes (give way to left-turning traffic) had traffic backing up through the town and over the three bridges due to congestion at the State Highway 1/11 intersection.

What we asked was for speed reduction to 50km/h at the northern end of the three bridges to mitigate the blind spot caused as the cars travel over the first bridge and disappear from sight (vertical alignment). Cars travelling at 100km/h were having close calls in nose to tail accidents.

The width of the bridges is tight, especially when Toll’s oversize trucks with triboard ride the road (200mm extra).

At 100km/h a vehicle covers 27.8 metres per second, so with two-way traffic the closing speed of vehicles towards each other, is 55 metres per second. The response time to an event on average is one second, and then it’s the ability of each individual vehicle to stop. A 50 tonne Toll truck is probably going to take substantially longer (acknowledging it is limited to 90km/h).

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that a small mistake at 100km/h can kill you; in two seconds you travel 110 metres toward each other, four seconds 220 metres.

Since we sent this request to the Transport Minister two people have died on the bridges in the last six months.

With the reduction of the speed limit to 50km/h the extra time taken to cover the 600 metres over the bridges is 21.6 seconds, but you should arrive in one piece, or at least have been able to avoid a crash on the three bridges.

In business there is health and safety, whereby directors of a company are liable if they expose people to risk, and heavy financial penalties should someone die on the job and no one responded to the threat.

Something as simple as shifting the 50km/h sign to the bottom of Whangae Rd, and here we are, 18 months later, still talking about it with two people dead.

Inexcusable for NZTA to sit on its hands, as there are other more important stretches of road, for the cost of four bags of concrete.

Mr Heath is the misinformed one; 80km/h was never the case.

Good on you Alice for starting the petition. At least people are talking. Maybe NZTA will do something to save lives, or we will be in print for another death on the bridges.

Two lives lost, 21.6 seconds, four bags of concrete; will three lives lost trigger something?

MALCOLM FRANCIS Chairman, Kawakawa Business and Community

Association