NZs stupidest road

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#3196847 17-Feb-2024 17:43

mudguard: I do it once a month for work. I'm going to be in the minority and say it doesn't really bother me.

Same with Nelson to Blenheim and Napier Taupo roads. With big chunks of those dropping to 80kmh it's made very little difference to the actual time it takes.

As for Paengaroa it's almost 20km longer and Google says it takes longer so that seals it for me.

That said I'm never in a rush for work and the less fuel my car uses the better.

85km @ 80kph takes just over an hour

105km @ 100kph takes just over an hour

Thing is, about 1/2 of the road between Rotorua and Whakatane is @60kph so it will take LONGER. And yes on both routes there are places where real speed is lower, but over all the longer route is faster.

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#3197193 18-Feb-2024 20:08

mudguard: I do it once a month for work. I'm going to be in the minority and say it doesn't really bother me.

Same with Nelson to Blenheim and Napier Taupo roads. With big chunks of those dropping to 80kmh it's made very little difference to the actual time it takes.

Napier<>Taupo when they reduced it to 80, they actually had to remove some speed advisory signs on corners that recommended 85 as the speed to take the corner.

It also adds about 15 minutes. If you get stuck behind a truck, it becomes much more difficult to pass them when limited to 80 at a passing lane and then you are still stuck behind them on the slow up/down hill sections.

When leaving taupo heading to napier, its 59kms until the first slow vehicle bay and 64kms until the first passing lane. Much of it very slow going when stuck behind a truck in an area of no straight lengths of road to pass safely.

On the first part there are some long straight lengths but because trucks dont use their hibeams at night, its impossible to see to pass safely there either.

I think the NZTA should focus on slow vehicle bays for the next few years - every 10kms they need to install a slow vehicle bay.

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#3197198 18-Feb-2024 20:41

Surely it must be the Havelock North roundabout that has a give way sign actually on the roundabout itself?

Edit: And yes the new'ish 80km/h Napier-Taupo speed limit change is also rediculous.

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#3197200 18-Feb-2024 20:48

sir1963:

mudguard: I do it once a month for work. I'm going to be in the minority and say it doesn't really bother me.

Same with Nelson to Blenheim and Napier Taupo roads. With big chunks of those dropping to 80kmh it's made very little difference to the actual time it takes.

As for Paengaroa it's almost 20km longer and Google says it takes longer so that seals it for me.

That said I'm never in a rush for work and the less fuel my car uses the better.

85km @ 80kph takes just over an hour

105km @ 100kph takes just over an hour

Thing is, about 1/2 of the road between Rotorua and Whakatane is @60kph so it will take LONGER. And yes on both routes there are places where real speed is lower, but over all the longer route is faster.

Yeah but your calcs are flawed when people are actually travelling under 80km/h for fear of getting a ticket. Also trying to average 80km/h means you need to be travelling 100km/h most of the time. If you've ever averaged 100km/h on a long trip you'd understand that you are travelling much faster than that for the majority of your journey.

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#3197254 18-Feb-2024 21:09

raytaylor:

I think the NZTA should focus on slow vehicle bays for the next few years - every 10kms they need to install a slow vehicle bay.

Make them compulsory for ALL trucks/camper vans, cars with trailers etc.

AND have a lower speed limit for them

When I went around the east cape in a camper van , every time I can to a slow vehicle lane or a passing lane I REDUCED my speed 10-20kph to enable as many people to safely pass me as I could. I was on holiday, what did I care about being 10 minutes late, good chance I would be stopping at a rest area for a cup of tea anyway.

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#3197255 18-Feb-2024 21:15

dimsim:

Yeah but your calcs are flawed when people are actually travelling under 80km/h for fear of getting a ticket. Also trying to average 80km/h means you need to be travelling 100km/h most of the time. If you've ever averaged 100km/h on a long trip you'd understand that you are travelling much faster than that for the majority of your journey.

Your conditions apply to both scenarios . Given the much straighter road via Paengaroa the average speed would be closer to the maximum than if you went via the other slower route.

Cruise control, or setting max speed (Options for both in my Vitara) keeps my speed steady, saves me fuel.

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#3197259 18-Feb-2024 21:27

sir1963:

raytaylor:

I think the NZTA should focus on slow vehicle bays for the next few years - every 10kms they need to install a slow vehicle bay.

Make them compulsory for ALL trucks/camper vans, cars with trailers etc.

AND have a lower speed limit for them

When I went around the east cape in a camper van , every time I can to a slow vehicle lane or a passing lane I REDUCED my speed 10-20kph to enable as many people to safely pass me as I could. I was on holiday, what did I care about being 10 minutes late, good chance I would be stopping at a rest area for a cup of tea anyway.

As slower traffic should if they are holding up traffic, but you Sir are probably the exception to the rule.

It's well documented here and elsewhere of frustration felt when slower drivers actually speed up when they come to a passing lane as apparently they feel safer with a wider stretch of road.

Why I chimed in on SH5 in particular is beacuse that most likely 80% of that road can safely be travelled with a cruise control set to 100km/h.

Speed is not what's causing accidents, people are causing them, primarily because they are either poor drivers or not driving to the conditions.

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#3197266 18-Feb-2024 21:55

dimsim:

Surely it must be the Havelock North roundabout that has a give way sign actually on the roundabout itself?

Edit: And yes the new'ish 80km/h Napier-Taupo speed limit change is also rediculous.

That give way sign works quite well, but its not a roundabout.

It is however a series of T intersections along a one-way road in close proximity to each other.

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#3197288 19-Feb-2024 07:23

dimsim:

Why I chimed in on SH5 in particular is beacuse that most likely 80% of that road can safely be travelled with a cruise control set to 100km/h.

Speed is not what's causing accidents, people are causing them, primarily because they are either poor drivers or not driving to the conditions.

I don't know about that. Again, I drive all these roads every month virtually. There's a large chunk of SH5 where you can do nowhere near 100kmh. Maybe the first third and the second third you'd get close to averaging it. But the middle nowhere near it.

The net result is that I find there is almost no time taken difference anyway. The thing I like about the 80kmh limit sometimes is that the odd truck can get closer to it. So if the truck is grinding up a hill at 70kmh there isn't the shock of approaching it 100kmh and thinking god it's slow. Whereas at 80kmh I find myself much more inclined to sit behind it.

Now I'm sure it's possible to drive all these roads more quickly, and as the OP pointed out, the Rotorua to Whakatane road does seem to have the 60 and 80s forever. But hey, you have legislate for the lowest common denominator.

Maybe next month I'll try the Paengaroa way and compare.

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#3197290 19-Feb-2024 07:44

raytaylor:

That give way sign works quite well, but its not a roundabout.

It is however a series of T intersections along a one-way road in close proximity to each other.

You're dreaming mate, the layout is identical to most roundabouts with entry and exit points. There are also no one way roads anywhere near, unless you are referring to the actual aroundabout which of course is one way.

It's also quite clearly signposted on two thirds of the entry points, so two thrids of the users think its a roundabout, and one third don't.

Oh yeah, its 66% roundabout, thats smart.

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#3197338 19-Feb-2024 07:51

Edit. So I had a look at the past year for my Rotorua to Whakatane trips

2023

January 1:10

June 1:23

September 1:10

October 1:24

January 1:14 (2024 new speed limits). So at worst it looks like it's cost 4 minutes.

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#3197342 19-Feb-2024 08:05

One of the reasons I drive with a radar detector, I'm happy to cruise at the speed limit, whatever that limit may be, but I have no issue exceeding it by whatever margin needed to pass a vehicle as safely as possible if they aren't even close to the speed limit, very limited need to worry about PC Plod.

They've dropped the speed limits in Selwyn district on many of the roads from 100 to 80 or 60 (and down to 40 through townships), given the length of trips I usually take, makes virtually nil difference to travel times. Ofcourse as if often the case, perception of a change is often worse than the actual change itself.

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#3197443 19-Feb-2024 11:38

mudguard:
Edit. So I had a look at the past year for my Rotorua to Whakatane trips

2023

January 1:10

June 1:23

September 1:10

October 1:24

January 1:14 (2024 new speed limits). So at worst it looks like it's cost 4 minutes.

To get an accurate handle on travel time for a route you need to record many trips and the time of the day before you can really compare the affects of speed limits etc.

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mudguard

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#3197451 19-Feb-2024 11:47

Technofreak:
mudguard:
Edit. So I had a look at the past year for my Rotorua to Whakatane trips

2023

January 1:10

June 1:23

September 1:10

October 1:24

January 1:14 (2024 new speed limits). So at worst it looks like it's cost 4 minutes.

To get an accurate handle on travel time for a route you need to record many trips and the time of the day before you can really compare the affects of speed limits etc.

That's true. I can probably look up my SH5 times. But if someone is doing Rotorua to Whakatane daily then they're welcome to chip in. I could probably go back further but it will depend on how long Google keeps my time line data.

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#3197462 19-Feb-2024 12:31

Nelson to Blenheim ... dropping to 80kmh it's made very little difference to the actual time it takes.

I find it's about 15 - 20 minutes longer for me on a good day (if obeying the new speed limits on the two big hills). On a congested day, with lots of trucks it gets much longer very fast. My worst trip is two hours 15 minutes. It was painful

Psychologically, I find the trip really drags now. I hate doing it and I avoid if at all possible.

Mike

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