AA Election Calls 2011

AA election calls

By Dylan Thomsen

Leading up to the general election, the AA is championing actions it wants the next Government to take on road safety.

These reflect what AA Members have told us they want through our Member surveys, as well as what our own research and expertise, plus overseas experience, shows will make a real difference.

The Government’s Safer Journeys road safety strategy for 2010-2020 seeks to create safer drivers, in safer vehicles, on safer roads travelling at safer speeds. The AA’s Election Calls reflect what we want to see happen in each of these areas:

Safe roads and roadsides

Reprioritise transport spending so an extra $150 million a year is spent on low-cost road safety engineering improvements
Dedicate any new traffic fine revenue to road safety initiatives

Safe vehicles

Raise the safety standards of imported vehicles requiring new cars to have electronic stability control and a minimum ANCAP crash rating of four stars, and used cars to have at least a three-star ANCAP rating or meet suitable safety standards

Safe drivers

Introduce saliva-based roadside drugged-driving testing
Increase rehabilitation treatment for recidivist drink-drivers
Extend the minimum learner licence period to 12 months from six months

Safe speeds

Make fixed speed cameras more visible to drivers and signpost fixed speed camera areas
Introduce red light cameras in all major cities

What do the parties think?

We are also calling for the next Government to fully implement the ‘safe system’, as set out in the Safer Journeys 2010-2020 strategy and do more to have a public conversation with all road users so they understand how they can play their part in making our roads safer for everyone. We asked political parties polling over 5% for their policies on transport.

Green Party

Traffic growth is down, petrol prices are up and bus and train patronage is growing at a record rate – it is time for a balanced transport budget.

The Green Party will reprioritise the $13 billion+ set aside for uneconomic new motorways. We will focus the budget on road safety, local road maintenance and alternatives to car dependence. We will invest in smart transport solutions, like light rail in Wellington and Christchurch, the CBD rail loop in Auckland, rail freight, bus services in smaller towns, and safe walking and cycling.

Our plan will reduce congestion, create more jobs, reduce greenhouse emissions and save the Government money. It is a smarter spend than the Government’s reckless gamble on uneconomic motorways.

Labour

To ensure that we add substance to the ongoing rhetoric around transport policy and road safety, we will be introducing a range of measures. We will consider, subject to funding availability, the introduction of driver training programmes, especially for young drivers in poorer communities. We will investigate effective means to prevent child deaths and injuries in driveways and we will review international research on child restraints and implement best practice recommendations.

Probably an initiative that will divide us from the current Minister of Transport is our willingness to reduce the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05. We are convinced, having read the reports and having had discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, that this reduction will both reduce current injury rates and save lives.

National

National will continue its record investment in much-needed transport infrastructure. Continued funding for state highways, local roads and the Roads of National Significance will help encourage business, tourism and jobs and will improve road safety. Helping to rebuild the land transport network in Christchurch is also a top priority.

National is committed 100% to hypothecation – whereby all road taxes are invested to the benefit of road users. Labour and Greens are talking about taking much more of that money for large public transport projects and to fund other government spending. That would only take us backwards.

As a country, we are starting to make progress in reducing our road toll. National is making common-sense law changes that clearly target the groups and behaviours that have the most impact on our road toll. If re-elected, we will continue that approach and be careful not to impose unnecessary additional costs on general road users.

National, Labour and the Greens give their response to each of the AA’s 10 calls

Fully implement the Safe System approach set out in Safer Journeys 2010-2020 strategy

Greens: Yes – we support a safer system, with safer vehicles, safer drivers and safer speeds. We also have a costed transport plan that gives people more transport choices, such as safer walking and cycling, and better public transport.
Labour: Yes
National: National introduced the safe system approach outlined in Safer Journeys and would keep implementing it. Each individual action will be assessed to ensure it will improve road safety without imposing disproportionate costs on road users.
Undertake a public conversation with all road users to educate them about how they can play their part in road safety

Greens: Yes – we support greater stakeholder involvement in finding solutions that will make our transport system safer.
Labour: Yes
National: National has led a spirited public debate on road safety initiatives over the last three years, matched with decisions taken that have contributed to real momentum in road safety. That debate would continue under National as we seek to further reduce our road toll, and it would be supported with the new dedicated fund for road safety promotion and a redirection of the Road Safety Trust funding into encouraging non-government groups with their road safety initiatives.
Spend an extra $150m a year on road-safety engineering improvements

Greens: Yes, we would take this out of funding for uneconomic new state highways.
Labour: Uncertain : this would have to be considered in the context of overall budgets and current fiscal restraints.
National: National has for the first time dedicated a specific part of road funding for engineering safety improvements on both highways and local roads. National has allocated between $230 - $360 million a year for this work, which is a major step up and exceeds the amounts requested by the AA*.

* It is difficult to ascertain whether this addresses the AA’s call for an extra $150m to be spent on road-safety engineering improvements as previous figures did not break-down how much was spent annually by the Government in this area.
Dedicate new traffic fine revenue to road safety

Greens: Yes we support using traffic fine revenue for road safety after covering the cost of enforcement.
Labour: No
National: No, National believes that fine revenues from all law enforcement should go to help defray the costs of the justice system, which is very expensive to operate.
Raise the safety standards of imported vehicles

Greens: Yes. We would also raise fuel efficiency and tail pipe emissions standards.
Labour: Labour initiated this.
National: National is planning a review of safety standards for vehicles entering the fleet in the next three years. However any new mandatory standards would need to be widely used already so they do not significantly affect the affordability of new vehicles.
Introduce saliva-based roadside drugged driving testing

Greens: Yes
Labour: Saliva drug testing is not yet reliable enough where this can be effective.
National: National is proud of accelerating and passing New Zealand’s first anti-drugged driving legislation this term. We focussed on impairment testing rather than saliva tests because it better targets the risk and covers a wider range of drugs. We would continue to review saliva based testing as the technology further develops.
Increase rehabilitation for recidivist drink drivers

Greens: Yes
Labour: Yes
National: National has prepared and passed legislation to help get drink drivers off the road by:
1. Doubling jail penalties for drink driving and dangerous driving causing death
2. Introducing a blood alcohol limit of zero for 3 years after repeat drink drivers get their licence back
3. Introducing alcohol interlocks for repeat offenders for at least 12 months (subject to being violation free or doing an approved alcohol assessment). After that they are again subject to a zero blood alcohol limit for 3 years

These moves will help separate the drinking from the driving for repeat offenders, and focus them on solving their alcohol problem.
Make minimum learner licence period 12 months

Greens: Yes
Labour: Uncertain
National: National has increased the driving age from 15 to 16 and is strengthening the restricted license test to encourage 120 hours experience before young drivers go solo. This will have the effect of lengthening the time on a learners licence for many drivers - and is better than a mandatory one year as different people have different levels of opportunity to practice.
Make speed cameras more visible

Greens: We agree that the purpose of a speed camera should be to reduce speeding, not to gather fines, and we support making them more visible. We also support ‘self-explaining’ street design which is much more effective at influencing driver behaviour to be slower and safer.
Labour: Yes
National: Official surveys show that there has been a drop in both mean speeds and the percentage of drivers exceeding the speed limit over the past decade, which has contributed to lowering the road toll. National is pleased with this progress and would need evidence that any change of approach would have a beneficial effect before proceeding.
Have red light cameras in all major cities

Greens: We support enforcement of red lights with cameras, but redesigning streets and reducing traffic lights in the city is an important part of reducing dangerous driving, start-stop traffic which increases emissions, and waiting time at lights. This must be done in a way that is sensitive to the needs of those travelling on foot, bicycle, public transport, taxis and commercial service vehicles.
Labour: Yes
National: National supported the red light camera trial carried out in Auckland and will support the programme going nationwide if the trial is found to be successful.