Road safety should be removed from politics, now it looks like a political party could come into power and remove any benefits that Aotearoa’s society have gained.

National Party MP Simeon Brown claims that if they are elected they “will end speed reductions and change rules, bringing in new Setting of Speed Limit Rules.” Furthermore, “Slowing speeds is under the guise of safety!” “Really! It’s akin to saying that we should have a right to carry arms. This would endanger everyone on our roads - not just children - just for the sake of a few votes. Safer roads encourage pedestrians and cyclists to give it a go, which combats climate change while taking cars off the road. Has Mr Brown not researched why speed limits are in place?” says Lucinda Rees, Road Safety advocate, who calls for consistent 30km/h speed limits outside all schools.

At 30km/h a person has a 90% chance of surviving being hit by a vehicle.

The World Health Organisation have done many studies on speed reductions and conclude that an increase of average speed of 1km/h results in a 3% higher risk of a crash and a 4 to 5% increase in fatalities.

In New Zealand transport experts have been working hard over the years to bring about these current safety standards, so removing them would be a huge waste of precious tax payer money, as well as making roads dangerous.

“Some speed limit reductions are still short of what they really should be, but great things take time and it seems that great things can also be demolished by an irresponsible action of a political party that should know better.

“Road safety measures are as much about changing the culture of how we drive, as they are making roads safer for all who use them.” Says Ms Rees.

If cars are to be driven faster, there will be more pollution and less people will walk or bike, all affecting our wobbling climate. Which is why politicians should be protecting us not putting us in danger, just for a few votes. Now is a good time to remove Road Safety from the hands of politicians and put it into an independent road safety organisation, that has no political affiliations.

The rest of the world is surging ahead with road safety measures and climate change actions, but here in Aotearoa politicians are looking at taking us back in time.

Let’s take road safety out of the hands of politicians.

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