White crosses planted along SH2

More white crosses will be seen on State Highway 2 between Tauranga and Katikati in the coming months. Photos: Emma Bryan.

More white crosses are appearing on State Highway 2 north of Tauranga – but they're not to mark specific accidents.

Instead, they are intended to serve as visual reminders to slow down and not take risks on what residents are describing as a dangerous piece of road that needs fixing.

Youngson Road resident Emma Bryan made the crosses over the weekend with her three children, who attend school down the highway on Plummers Point Road.

'We're in and out of these intersections all the time,” says Emma.

'I'm part of the group of people who are trying to do something about this road, because it's getting out of hand.”

She says there are a number of roads that feed onto the highway, and as the population grows and the volume of traffic increases, it's becoming more difficult to safely turn onto State Highway 2.

There's been debate in the community over whether it's the fault of the road or the drivers when accidents occur, but Emma says there will always be people who make mistakes.

'A couple of years ago I was the first on the scene of an accident and held a guy in my arms until he died,” she says.

'You're always going to have bad drivers – the best we can hope for is a road that allows us to get out of the way of drivers who make mistakes, because at the moment we don't.”

She plans to put up more crosses in the future, with statistics about how many people have died on the road.

'It's just to get people thinking and hopefully make them more cautious at intersections.”

Emma's children helping out.

Emma is part of the Facebook group ‘Fix the BLOODY Road', which was formed by disgruntled residents seeking prompt action on State Highway 2.

The group is looking at many avenues to achieve their goals, including making submissions to the regional council, writing letters to MPs and government ministers, and putting up visual reminders like the crosses.

As a last resort, there has also been talk of blocking major highways into Tauranga as a means of shining a spotlight on the issue.

State Highway 2 from Tauranga to Katikati is described by the AA as a 'two-star' highway, with 18 people dying in crashes and 35 serious injuries from 2012-2016.

'All highways in New Zealand are rated from one to five stars for their in-built level of safety through a programme called KiwiRAP,” says AA senior communications adviser Dylan Thomsen.

'The new Tauranga Eastern Link would have a four or five star safety rating and will subsequently have very low rates of injuries or deaths per kilometre travelled compared to lower star highways. Two star highways have features like poor roadside conditions, narrow lanes, insufficient overtaking opportunities and poorly designed intersections.

'One of the AA's election calls to the new government is to commit to upgrading two star regional highways to at least a three star standard, which has been shown to halve the rate of fatal and injury crashes on a stretch of road.”

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9 comments

Nice Idea ..

Posted on 20-03-2018 08:09 | By @)---}-

But I can't help but feel this in turn is an extra distraction for drivers??


Drivers

Posted on 20-03-2018 10:00 | By Told you

The Police blame the drivers on this road and not the road itself therefore according to them no money needs to be spent, end thats the end of the story, If only this was true. A thin white line is all that separates cars on a State Highway with very little room for error a recipe for disaster,I dont know what overseas people think of our so called Highways but they must shake their heads in wonderment at just how narrow this road is in places, no wonder it has so many accidents, please fix this road.


Stupidity

Posted on 20-03-2018 10:42 | By Sandra77

Some people just don't think - how can they not see this would definitely be a distraction for drivers! I mean the signs are meant for the people driving that stretch of road - should they go slower so they can read them all??


Well done Emma and family

Posted on 20-03-2018 10:45 | By nerak

These signs are great, good proactivity. I hope they are allowed to stay there. It's years since I lived out your way, but well remember how fraught roading in that area could be, and of course much worse now. I also remember a workmate arriving late, looking as white as a sheet after assisting at a fatal at the Youngson Rd/highway junction. Stay safe. (I wouldn't see these signs as a distraction any more than other signage)


Good effort but...

Posted on 20-03-2018 12:17 | By AndyCap

when you have written words on these signs, you are tempted to try and read them whilst driving. This is a clear distraction and is in itself very dangerous. Sorry, but they need to be removed.


Missing a Point

Posted on 20-03-2018 12:35 | By The Hobbit

I think everyone is getting too wrapped up in accidents on this stretch of road - and yes it's the drivers not the road. However, my main push for change is because of the huge traffic jams I encounter all the time between Omokoroa and Bethlehem. The road needs to be upgraded to handle an increasing number of vehicles using it and it's only going to get a whole lot worse when they continue to build up areas like what is happening in Omokoroa right now.


road

Posted on 20-03-2018 13:55 | By dumbkof2

i travelled on this road on sunday. i was travelling at the posted speed limit. twice when the limit on a corner was posted at 80ks i was passed by other vehicles. also one vehicle passed the car in front of me at a intersection. dumb stupid drivers. but don't worry it's the road thats dangerous.


Let them stay

Posted on 20-03-2018 16:05 | By Ted the Mechanic

The crosses should stay. They may be the difference between a driver performing a stupid manoeuvre or not by pricking their conscience and reminding them that this road is extremely dangerous. The death and serious injury accident statistics quoted for SH2 from Katikati to Tauranga are the worst in NZ with 18 deaths, 35 serious and 95 minor injuries. Second is SH1 from Kawakawa to Springs Flat in Northland with 14 deaths, 41 serious and 133 minor injuries.And the death toll keeps rising as reports on SunLive attest.Road safety should have a higher weighting in the Regional Land Transport Plan project prioritisation list. Make a submission here - https://www.boprc.govt.nz/plans-policies-and-resources/plans/regional-land-transport-plan/


A lot

Posted on 20-03-2018 16:12 | By Merlin

A lot of the deaths and injuries are occurring at intersections or on the narrow windy bits of the road.I live in the Quarry road area and there has been 6 deaths near here whilst I have been here.These intersections are on a rise and vehicles are going at 90km or faster past both ways it is a job to get out on to the highway.Something needs to be done urgently for these intersection and we don't need political grandstanding from the local MP's. If they were concerned they would have done something in their 9 years especially the Ex Minister of Transport.


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