Govt Agencies Admitting Failure on Road to Zero Plan
December 23, 2022
PHOTO: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The reason for the need to adjust the target was the government’s road safety partners - the police, Waka Kotahi and the Ministry of Transport - failing to deliver on their targets.
In documents sent to the police minister, Chris Hipkins, the police admitted they had “not met set Road to Zero targets for 2021”.
According to the police annual report, they had not met targets for speed camera hours or the number of alcohol tests they should have run. Several other road safety targets had also not been achieved.
Despite this, police said to the minister that “this should not be seen as police not targeting those who take risks on the road”.
Waka Kotahi has also missed targets, mainly in regards to infrastructure.
It was supposed to build 100km of median barriers per year, and 400km by 2024.
Last year it built 13km of median barriers, and in total it has only built 50km of median barriers since the Road to Zero plan began in 2020.
Waka Kotahi is also short of targets for side barriers and other safety features, while it is unable to say how many intersection upgrades it has made.
The agency’s annual report says just four intersections were upgraded last year, but that only includes state highways.
It said some local roads had been upgraded, but it could not tell us how many.
Bryan Sherrit, the director of Road To Zero for the Ministry of Transport, admitted the progress on road safety had been slower than what the agencies had wanted.