NZs stupidest road

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sir1963

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#311807 16-Feb-2024 11:11

Had to go the Whakatane yesterday from Palmy.

LOTS of roadworks, a right PITA.

HOWEVER, the road from Rotorua to Whakatane (SH 30) has been effective turned into a cycle path as most of it is now 60kph with parts 80kph (ALL 85km of it), yes including all the flat straight parts from about Kawerau to Whakatane are 60/80 kph

There are rural gravel roads that come off this that has "open road" signs.

It is now actually faster to go Rotorua - Paengaroa (Near Te Puke) - Whakatane (104km)

Coming back (LONG DAY!) I actual went Whakatane-Paengaroa-Rotorua-Whakamaru- down the western access- over the Pungapunga to Taumarunui - Waiouru -Palmy because the Desert Rd was closed, the roads were better, and less traffic (until I met all the trains of trucks who diverted because of the road closure ).

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#3196198 16-Feb-2024 11:46

Yes. It's a point of frustration for many locals. Six months ago it was 100 most of the way (80 around the lakes) and was more-or-less a fairly enjoyable drive. Now it might indeed be quicker to do as you did and drive to Paengaroa and then down, but I haven't confirmed that myself. It's probably less frustrating, at least!

Ge0rge

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#3196533 16-Feb-2024 20:00

But "safer speeds durp durp"...

Featherston to Masterton is ~35km, and has 11 corners on the open road. Over two years of maintenance has been conducted to put cheese cutter barriers in places, and drop the entire trip to 80km/h - and the road is in significantly worse condition than it was when they started.

All the roads leading off it, including the gravel, are still open road speed limit, and so is the Remutaka Hill road - which could easily have been dropped to 60km/h with little to no impact on trip times, but big "feel-good" factor. 🤦‍♂️

coffeebaron

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#3196537 16-Feb-2024 20:28

Yeah it's a bit ridiculous what the last government did with speed limits. Constant changes between 60 & 80 on many rural roads. Very easy to speed as you forget what zone you're in and revert to standard open road driving.

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tchart

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#3196544 16-Feb-2024 21:33

coffeebaron: Yeah it's a bit ridiculous what the last government did with speed limits. Constant changes between 60 & 80 on many rural roads. Very easy to speed as you forget what zone you're in and revert to standard open road driving.

SH2 from Featherston to Masterton is all 80kmh now. It’s a straight road with a cheese grater down the middle now. Funny thing is the back roads are still 100kmh with limited safety features. Go figure.

Ge0rge

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#3196546 16-Feb-2024 21:37

tchart:
coffeebaron: Yeah it's a bit ridiculous what the last government did with speed limits. Constant changes between 60 & 80 on many rural roads. Very easy to speed as you forget what zone you're in and revert to standard open road driving.

SH2 from Featherston to Masterton is all 80kmh now. It’s a straight road with a cheese grater down the middle now. Funny thing is the back roads are still 100kmh with limited safety features. Go figure.

Seems like there is an echo in here...🤣

Technofreak

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#3196550 16-Feb-2024 22:07

Time for a concerted effort to petition local MPs to get this stupidity stopped and the speed limits back to where they. were.

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Stu1

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#3196603 16-Feb-2024 23:06

Hayward’s hill in Wellington my sons 12 now and they still haven’t finshed cone hill

Wheelbarrow01

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#3196614 17-Feb-2024 01:14

SH7 between Waipara and Culverden on the way to Hanmer Springs. Used to be 100 but the tourists did 80. Now the limit is 80 so the tourists do 60. And everyone's too scared to overtake in case Mr Plod is waiting around the next bend, so instead they all just tailgate each other so there's no room to safely pass any of them. Incredibly frustrating.

It's a similar situation along the Kaikoura coast, the road to Akaroa etc etc.

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#3196616 17-Feb-2024 03:55

Stu1: Hayward’s hill in Wellington my sons 12 now and they still haven’t finshed cone hill

Bit hard to follow - what is your point?

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#3196666 17-Feb-2024 07:19

I always travel via Murupara and then you miss Rotorua altogether.

Mehrts

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#3196682 17-Feb-2024 10:03

Stu1: Hayward’s hill in Wellington my sons 12 now and they still haven’t finshed cone hill

Without a start date, this means nothing, unless you're trying to say that the road works have been going on for 12 years too, which is honestly not surprising.

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Stu1

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#3196784 17-Feb-2024 14:13

Mehrts:
Stu1: Hayward’s hill in Wellington my sons 12 now and they still haven’t finshed cone hill

Without a start date, this means nothing, unless you're trying to say that the road works have been going on for 12 years too, which is honestly not surprising.

It’s taken 12 years to dig up the same spots over and over again, but yet hard to see where the improvements are. We seem to have a mentality of adding median barriers and reducing speed limits to compensate for stupid driving .

Mehrts

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#3196839 17-Feb-2024 17:00

Stu1:

We seem to have a mentality of adding median barriers and reducing speed limits to compensate for stupid driving .

This is exact problem everywhere. Seems like we're happy to try and stop the aftermath, but not focus on the core issue (driver training) in the first place.

mudguard

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#3196844 17-Feb-2024 17:27

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.

sir1963

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#3196846 17-Feb-2024 17:37

Mehrts:

Stu1:

We seem to have a mentality of adding median barriers and reducing speed limits to compensate for stupid driving .

This is exact problem everywhere. Seems like we're happy to try and stop the aftermath, but not focus on the core issue (driver training) in the first place.

OR, actually do anything about the bad drivers.

Why not have lifetime bans

Why not limit the power to weight ratio of cars for new drivers, ie give them a nana mobile , or for bad drivers

Why not 100% stop modification (wheels, exhaust, stereo , suspension, etc) from factory spec.

Why not make having a valid licence for a class of vehicles mandatory to be able to buy such a vehicle (carve out for some businesses)

Why not make heavy fines for people who sell vehicles to unlicensed drivers or loan them a car

Why not make finance impossible to get for a vehicle you are not licensed for

Why not tell insurers of these crimes so they can adjust insurance premiums, and make insurance compulsory

Why not take the private vehicles from people who steal someone else's car , even if its mum and dads car

Why not publicly name/shame/dox these people, if that is the tool that works for them.

Why not garner their wages/benefits from day one after a fine/conviction

Why not make paying the fines/etc compulsory BEFORE the car is returned from impound, and if not in 3 months, crush the car.

Why not seize all the vehicles of people who attend illegal boy racing events

Why is it we accept hundreds killed every year by vehicles when we do not accept it by other weapons ?

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