Ashburton mayor Neil Brown has suggested painting red warnings on the road at problem intersections in the district.
He said large red warnings squares had been painted on State Highway 1 on either side of the Chertsey rail crossing and they did a good job alerting motorists a change in the road was ahead.
The same warnings could be painted on roads at intersections what are known crash spots.
According to crash analysis data, 39 per cent of intersection crashes on local roads in the past five years were caused by drivers failing to give way or stop.
Sixty-three per cent of drivers who caused crashes were male and almost half of those 34 years or younger. Thirty-one per cent of women who crashed were in the 45-64 year age group.
Mr Brown said council had been looking at ways of reducing intersection crashes using rumble strips and stop signs, but red warnings painted on the road could also help attract a driver’s attention.
"It’s a very effective way of letting you know there is a potential hazard coming up."
Mr Brown’s suggestion came at council’s infrastructure committee meeting last week, where minutes of a recent road safety meeting were discussed.
Cr Lynette Lovett said the road safety committee was awaiting a report on how effective that, and other measures, had been on changing driver behaviour.
"If it works, we should be looking at it," Mr Brown said.
