Unfortunately Road Safety is being put on the back burner with the Minister of Transport proposing speed limit rises instead. Lucinda Rees from NZ School Speeds is calling on the Government to get tough on making roads safe for all, especially children.

“Children should have a right to make their way to school independently without fear or intimidation on the roads. There has been a lot of talk about gangs and the damage they do, however arguably more Kiwis face regular threats on our roads. The Minister of Transport is clearly ignoring this, by proposing to raise speed limits. Children will be most at risk from this.” says Lucinda Rees spokes person for NZ School Speeds who campaign for safe speeds outside schools.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown is also proposing that speed limits are only in place outside schools at the start and finish of school, but that does not help those children who use the school facilities outside these times. The World Health Organisation recommended speed limit outside schools is 30km/h and it should be in place at all times.

“In rural areas of Aotearoa there are speed limits of up to 100km/h outside schools which is unbelievably dangerous. These should be reduced to 60km/h leading up to the school zone, so that vehicles can be safely slowed to 30km/h within the school zone. The travel time lost in slowing in a school zone would be seconds. For children to be able to safely make their way to and from school in these areas, the speed limit should remain at 60km/h on roads up to 3km away from the school, so that those unable to use the school bus can still travel in relative safety. Independent travel by children should be a priority,” says Rees.

“All in Aotearoa are being held ransom by this Government with the prospect of raising speed limits. The previous safety measures implemented by the previous Government, were well researched and while not going far enough, they were leading to safer roads for everyone.

“Simeon Brown, the Minister of Transport is proposing to reverse this, as driving a couple of kilometres faster will apparently help us all economically... This is unproven. They should be sticking to the facts, one of them being that for every extra 1km/h rise in speed, the likelihood of a fatality, if a vulnerable road user was hit by a car is 4 - 5% higher.

“Road safety should be the backbone of Transport, not raising speed limits as they can cost lives. The life of every human being is more significant than building roads,” says Ms Rees and she would like to see Significant lives of Humans a priority, ahead of building roads.

Vulnerable road users have a right to live without fear and intimidation.

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