Waka kotahi says new road safety cameras that track a cars speed over a length of road are way more effective at reducing crashes than fixed spot speed cameras. The so called point to point cameras average a vehicles speed over the journey between two cameras. They're being installed along stretches of six roads that are considered high risk crash areas in the Auckland region. The cameras will be tested for about about three months and data will be gathered before they're used for enforcement and tickets start being issued. Waka Kotahi's head of regulatory strategic programmes, Tara MacMillan, explains in more detail how the new cameras work.

It looks like instead of pinging carelessness, we will soon be keeping people to the speed limit.

With the reducing of speed limits being pulled, at least this will give another way to reduce the impact of crashes.

Unlike the comment on reddit saying this won’t reduce crashes, I’m going to point out that it’s not designed to. Road to zero is about recognising crashes will happen, this move is about reducing the damage when crashes inevitably occur.

  • @[email protected]English
    2•8 months ago

    In-laws in the UK moaned about these a bunch when they were first introduced over there - their problem being “everyone is staring at their speed rather than paying attention to the road”, as if:

    • The only acceptable speed is exactly the limit, and driving a couple of mph under is a capital offence
    • Being unable to maintain a consistent speed without constantly watching the speedometer doesn’t already make you a dangerous driver
    • @DaveOPMA
      2•8 months ago

      Realistically, most cars these days have cruise control. If your car doesn’t, the car in front of you (or in front of them) probably does. So it’s unlikely you’ll be unable to get the speed right.

      A much harder thing is the mental hurdle of driving at a speed lower than it seems the road can handle (because our assessment is based on everything going right).

      • Iceblade
        2•8 months ago

        Driving with cruise control enabled tends to reduce situational awareness and increase response times, particularly if it also enables the driver to be distracted by other things.

        I would argue that an attentive driver who ignores posted limits and instead adjusts their speed to be appropriate to their situation is a far safer driver than a distracted driver with their cruise control set to the limit.