Safety spotlight goes on tourist routes

In-depth crash analysis of popular tourist routes in the lower South Island is being undertaken to pinpoint what safety measures could be introduced to reduce the tourist-related road toll.

The "detailed crash analysis" is being conducted by the Ministry of Transport following growing concern about the number of tourists involved in fatal and serious injury road crashes.

It also follows the death of 5-year-old Ruby Jay Marris after a head-on collision involving a foreign driver in Otago on Saturday. The crash also injured her parents Tristan, 41, and Kimberley, 40, and sisters Sophie and Georgia, both aged under 10, who were still in hospital last night.

Last week three American citizens were killed and one seriously injured in a head-on collision with a logging truck north of Tokoroa.

Warren Lee, 53, Aesoon Lee, 52 and their daughter Julia Lee, 20, died when the car Ms Lee was driving crossed the centre line. Her 18-year-old brother was taken to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition.

The crash analysis is part of the Visiting Drivers Signature Project, which is looking at ways of "strengthening the whole system", the Ministry told NZME. News Service. It will look at how to make vehicles, roads and motorists safer.

It is looking at popular routes in the lower South Island after figures revealed the 11 regions with the highest proportion of crashes involving overseas drivers were all in the South Island.

The Ministry will work with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to plan safety improvements, such as directional arrows, rumble strips, shoulder widening, and wire rope or median barriers where appropriate, a Ministry spokeswoman said.

"Also investigated will be more lay-bys and rest areas/photo stops - enabling people to stop safely at popular photo spots."

She continued: "Improvements to the roading network are longer term measures, as improvements need to be budgeted for, both by the NZ Transport [Agency] and local authorities, as many rural roads come under the control of local authorities."

Yesterday road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car review website dogandlemon.com, blamed Government "inaction" for the recent spate of tourist-related road deaths, and called for the installation of median barriers to prevent head-on collisions at crash hot-spots. He described the barriers as "vital safety features, which cost very little".

However, the Ministry spokeswoman said this was not the case.

"The Government wholeheartedly agrees that median barriers are a valuable tool in preventing head-on crashes at high-risk locations," she said, adding that such barriers have "helped prevent dozens of potentially fatal crashes" in areas where they are in place.

But she said they were "not an overnight solution, nor a 'cheap' option".

"They are far more complex and costly to install than, say, a fence," she said. "It takes time to prepare roads for the installation of median barriers, because they usually require the road to be widened to provide safe clearance when vehicles hit the barrier. Property often needs to be acquired to do the work.

"Access to people's properties also needs to be maintained, and often turning facilities for those whose access is affected.

"Wire rope median barriers, along with other life-saving devices, have been installed in many parts of the country, and will continue to be rolled out as part of the Government's overall investment in road safety."

The Ministry also said New Zealand would be at risk of contravening its obligations under the 1949 United Nations Convention on Road Traffic if it imposed practical or theory driving tests on visitors before allowing them to rent a car.

"Treaties are legally binding on the countries that sign up to them and New Zealand takes its treaty obligations seriously."

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Key initiatives of the Visiting Drivers Signature Project:

Completed:

* Steering wheel tags with key safety messages.

* Queenstown Lakes District Council have included the key safety messages in accommodation compendiums; on the back of three local buses; in weekly info provided by the District Council to accommodation providers, including updates on roadworks and impacts of travelling distance and time.

* Local councils installing signage on key visitor routes.

* Improving the accuracy of Google Map's travel time for Queenstown to Milford Sound.

* A NZ Police summer campaign for the southern region - Operation Rental - specifically increased frequency of patrols on popular tourist routes in Central and West Coast.

* Combined Tourism Industry and Rental Vehicle Associations guidelines for rental vehicle operators - best practice advice for industry in assessing prior driving experience of customers (tourists).

* Tourism Industry Association guidelines for accommodation providers - practical knowledge/advice for visiting drivers - see for more information http://www.tianz.org.nz/main/Visiting_Driver_Safety/

Planned:

* Nationwide workshops based on the guidelines for accommodation providers.

* Further work on improving safety of roads and roadsides, potentially including directional arrows; rumble strips; median barriers; lay-bys and rest areas/photo stops.

* Encouraging rental vehicle companies to ensure their fleet is modern and safe with features such as electronic speed control.

* Encouraging visiting drivers to hire the safest cars they can afford.

(Source: Ministry of Transport)

- Patrice Dougan of NZME. News Service

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