4km/h speed threshold for 62 days

[actletpone 43]

Police will this summer enforce the 4km/h speed ticket threshold for 62 days in a row - a move that could spell the end of the 10km/h speed tolerance.

For two months from December 1, police will be aggressively targeting drivers travelling at more than 4km/h over the speed limit.

If the extended trial was a success, the the 4km/h speed threshold could become a permanent fixture on our roads, Assistant Commissioner of road policing Dave Cliff said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11163302

[BM WORLD 1283]

yea they need more money for dounuts

[westy 614]

Thou shalt pay your speed tax!

[gjm 3258]

If they'll just admit that targeting motorists in this way is about raising revenue, and quit with the 'it's for your safety folks' bollocks, then many people wouldn't mind so much.

I wonder what would happen if everyone stopped speeding, and drove at the legal limit?

Of course, I never exceed the limit so it won't bother me.

[hybrid 1043]

I do notice over this last few years the lowered speed tolerance has been in place the Police marketing machine goes quite when they have the worse weekends then just before they wave the flag for lower speed tolerance and go all quite when they have they have a bad one.

I think if some body challenged them on it their argument of voodoo and witch craft statistics will fall to pieces pretty quick. In the short term, road toll statistics have a lot to do with a lack of luck ... and that's about it.

About the only three things that are sure in the argument are vehicle capability and safety has increased and we have had a larger number of people on the roads + drink driving campaign has worked.

And yeah, i'm actually one of those people who sticks to the speed limit when doing open road so this whole thing doesn't really effect me. Holiday traffic is always sh*t so all good.

[Michael. 2313]

It does seem a little excessive. Does this mean 54km/h in city areas? Most people do 55-60km/h so it's pretty annoying in that regard.

I just wish more attention was place on poorly serviced cars, with bad shocks, tires and suspension that venture out loaded up with people and luggage onto the open road.

[M5V8 337]

last xmas I got fined for 6k over the limit pulling out of my mates place and heading down the hill. freakin ridiculous.

if the police want to sour their goodwill with the public than this nitpicking fines are the way to go.

go solve real crime.

with the state of our roads, the population growth & age of our cars the road toll has been improving.

if you want to see a drop in crashes fix the roads properly. fix the licencing system so people know how to behave on the open road. give us overtaking lanes so we can get past. rather than closing them off & dropping the speed limit.

i've seen more near misses recently due to moron's whom drive on the open road like they are looking for a carpark at the cinema.

rant.over.

[Ugan 41]

This wont make much of a difference during the festive period as most of the roads to your favourite Holiday Destinations will be gridlocked.

I know I am opening a can of worms here but the law's pursuit to clamp down on speed will soon make enjoying a sports car a thing of the past! As 7th gear mentioned above they need to focus on cars that are not road worthy and probably make the way we get our licenses more stringent ... its shocking what goes on our roads and this has nothing to do with speed.

A true car enthusiast will spend a lot of their hard earned cash buying tuning and fettling their cars with a never ending addiction of perfection , then one day you find yourself on a deserted road somewhere and will want to exercise your right foot for a few km's and just then coming out from a hedge somewhere will be the fuzz.... license lost.. its sad.

Rant over.

[kingkarl 136]

if it was just the cops I wouldn't mind so much - it's the speed cameras that get me... so unsporting

[NZ BMW 368]

last xmas I got fined for 6k over the limit pulling out of my mates place and heading down the hill. freakin ridiculous.

if the police want to sour their goodwill with the public than this nitpicking fines are the way to go.

This.... I'm not looking forward to a whole summer of people riding their brakes down hills and having to do the same because the tolerance will be applied without any level of thought.

[gjm 3258]

This.... I'm not looking forward to a whole summer of people riding their brakes down hills and having to do the same because the tolerance will be applied without any level of thought.

Already happening - down Bombay every morning all you can see is a stream of bright red brake lights as people shed speed to avoid having their picture taken by the unmarked van parked at the bottom.

[Zadkiel 41]

I think what is most ridiculous is that this applies to overtaking too. How are you meant to overtake someone doing 95 when you can only go 9kph faster for our tiny overtaking lanes. Open road driving in NZ sucks enough already, this is just going to make it worse.

It's sad that in many countries they are increasing speed limits and seeing results whereas here we are decreasing them and then claiming results that aren't even statistically backed up.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

A true car enthusiast will spend a lot of their hard earned cash buying tuning and fettling their cars with a never ending addiction of perfection , then one day you find yourself on a deserted road somewhere and will want to exercise your right foot for a few km's and just then coming out from a hedge somewhere will be the fuzz.... license lost.. its sad.

If you want to drive fast do it on the track, where there are no cars coming in the other direction and safety measures for your protection. A controlled environment takes a lot of the variable factors out of the equation and allows you to go as fast as you want (or can) without risks to others.. or your licence.

The countries that are increasing speed limits probably have proper motorway systems, not NZs idea of rutted cart tracks called State Highways which are dangerous in their own right.

I agree that the focus on speed is a bit one-eyed, the number of downright poor drivers and vehicles on the road should be taken out before such stringent speed measures. Maybe a bit more emphasis on driver education rather than punishment - explain to people what a "stopping distance" is meant to be, I can't get over how many nose-to-tail accident there are!

Unfortunately this news will just mean more people wombling along straight open roads at 80-90km/h as they are worried about getting pinged for 104, does nothing for safety as pretty soon there is a long tail of frustrated drivers trying to overtake with some desperate manoevers.

[gjm 3258]

Unfortunately this news will just mean more people wombling along straight open roads at 80-90km/h as they are worried about getting pinged for 104, does nothing for safety as pretty soon there is a long tail of frustrated drivers trying to overtake with some desperate manoevers.

What a wonderful term 'wombling' is.

May I suggest the use of 'bimbling' for drivers travelling at limit -20% on single carriageways, and 'wombling' for those drivers who come up a slip road, cut across traffic to the middle lane of a three-lane highway, then stay there regardless of speed of other vehicles, before carving back across a packed inside lane to the wrong exit?

OK, so much of NZ doesn't have three-lane roads, but I'm sure you recognise the type.

[M5V8 337]

I'd like to see the 4km tolerance enforced both ways.

IE - 100km limit > you must always drive between 96 - 104 km per hour

that would get everyone concentrating on their speed by staring at that tiny little needle in front of them! - isn't that the point of this ?

[lord_jagganath 421]

^ BAM! accidents increase by tenfold due to nobody looking at the road. Speed limits that allow no room to overtake are fallacious.

[hybrid 1043]

I dial up the cruise control ... sit on 80kph behind someone and a respectful distance for 20ks then get my chance to over take, pull out adjust to 104kph as per GPS then spend all my time over taking 1 car and jip everyone behind me because the the road train i'm following all speed up to 100 on their speedos which is still about 95 in real k/sI cant go any faster.

Sound familiar ?

Pretty much eaiser to get in line like everyone else and arrive 5 minutes later at the destination.

[Apex 693]

f**kers.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

In reality, probably still won't ticket you if you are going 109 its very hard to prove, and the tolerances on their own gear do not allow for 4km/h, that is only walking speed, very hard to pick up on a machine 500m away.

But these low tolerances are the reason i brought my Valentine One. If they didn't have these "hits" it would be one less reason to buy one, and id probably get tickets for time to time as well instead of never.

[richard 384]

Its all part of the govnments master plan , that once the roads are so conjester with commuters traving at the same speed thay'll then introduce toll roads(private) that will allow you/us to drive at a greater speed and we will lap it up and say "THANK YOU BOSS" like good little citizens.

[actletpone 43]

I can't wait to see all the off duty police officers overtaking trucks in the passing lane @ 104 km/h while travelling to their family holiday destinations.

[jake1829 119]

f**kers.

^^

Valentine One. If they didn't have these "hits" it would be one less reason to buy one, and id probably get tickets for time to time as well instead of never.

For the last 10years , always had one installed in my cars - that has saved me thousands of dollars of potential fines and demerit points

[aja540i 1906]

In reality, probably still won't ticket you if you are going 109 its very hard to prove, and the tolerances on their own gear do not allow for 4km/h, that is only walking speed, very hard to pick up on a machine 500m away.

But these low tolerances are the reason i brought my Valentine One. If they didn't have these "hits" it would be one less reason to buy one, and id probably get tickets for time to time as well instead of never.

I wish, got pinged at 105 last holiday weekend!! Screw it , i pay the$65 and keep driving safely at slightly more than the legal limit. They should put much more emphasis on driver training.

[yng_750 247]

its all marketing.

the first time they did the 4kph tolerance everyone stayed under control because they were thinking about it.

now the novelty has worn off so they have to make it a bigger deal to get people to think about it. hence threatening to do it all the time.

if they bring it in they lose the ability to wake people up during busy periods.

the same reason that speed kills tv ads no longer exist, people stopped watching.

[yng_750 247]

cant remember the last time i hear a cop say that was a tragic loss of life but it wouldnt have happened if they were doing 6kph less.