Is it now quicker to use 1 to Ohinewai then cut across to Tahuna to use 27 to get to Tirau!
Used 2 yesterday in moderate traffic and while slower and with no overtaking the traffic queue flowed without regular tromboning.
m16d,
Dec 22, 5:28pm
Its been 90 for a week or so. Dont know if its permanent or just for the holidays. The cops will have a field day on this one.
romulan7,
Dec 22, 5:53pm
Did you say the traffic was flowing better due to a 90kph limit on that road!I guess in a way it would given that the legal limit on towing is 90kph as well as on Trucks and Buses.Believe it or not there are Trucks and Buses that do actually abide by that limit.
richardmayes,
Dec 22, 6:07pm
There's been plenty of European research that's found you can *in some cases* get more vehicles per hour through a heavy-traffic road, by reducing the speed limit slightly. partly because cars can all sit slightly closer together at a lower speed, and partly because It reduces the intensity of the stop-start surges.
Although there are always those who will interpret it as damn cops trying to [ruin my fun / curb my freedom / gather revenue] etc.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 22, 6:08pm
I think this is the first of several 90km/h reductions I saw waiting to be unveiled a two or three weeks ago.
I think its a dreadful idea. Why do we have to put up with slower and slower roads. Its painful not being able to just set the cruise control and sit back on the open road. All of these slight speed restrictions are going to be a pain in the bum for accidental speeding tickets too.
Its time we demanded that state highways be 100km/h and if the road is not up to snuff then the road is improved. The only exception being some pre-existing gorges etc where cutting through rock etc makes the cost prohibitive.
I don't see why we need reduced speed when the road toll is in good shape and other countries which have faster open road limits than us are getting even faster open road limits again!
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 22, 6:13pm
Its a stop-gap measure thats being pressed in as a permanent one. You can always increase traffic flow better again by improving the road.
We shouldn't be allowing "band aids" where a proper fix is required.
Tauranga to Katikati is another one, there is no reason why the road can't be brought up to a standard suitable for the traffic flow (except money) butwe have allowed them to remove passing lanes and passing areas, squash the traffic tightly together in the middle of the road and reduce the speed limit.
Its made it a mongrel of a drive especially if you get stuck behind something very slow going northwards.
I detest being forced to do 70 - 80km/h on a state highway for long distances which is effectively what happens much of the time on this road now.
richardmayes,
Dec 22, 6:26pm
I've lived in Wellington long enough now that I've driven out of town to the North on super-heavy-traffic days when the passing lanes are blocked, and days when the passing lanes are open.
Blocking them off is definitely better than not blocking them off.
(And it frustrates me, because I like to drive as fast as the law permits, and away from heavy traffic I'm usually passing someone at nearly every passing lane. But the steadier flows that are achieved in very heavy traffic by eliminating the bottleneck at the end of the passing lane really do appear to be worth it. )
Yes it would be wonderful to have better roads everywhere. But it has taken 120+ years to build the highways up to what they are now, so it's not going to happen over night.
Anyway, I am determined I'm going to stay cool on Sunday as we head up the line, come what may in the traffic jam department. I'll be hanging out with Miss7 after her week away with her grandparents, and that's even better than driving a Triumph!
chris_051,
Dec 22, 6:29pm
Jazz there is nothing wrong with that road the reason why the limit is reduced is because of high traffic volumes consisting of piss poor drivers. I can sit my 40+ tonne b train on cruise 92 kmh between Bombay and SH27 no worries so there is no reason why a car can't keep a steady 100kmh. of course when the traffic is high I can't stick the cruise on, as most people will fluctuate between 80 - 90 kmh then hit 100 on the few passing lanes. Standard of driving needs looking at before anything else.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 22, 7:51pm
Great plan for the break, I hope you both have a great time!
I agree with most of what you are saying, we certainly can't make the roads magically better overnight.
What is concerning me though is that I think the 90 km/h signs on State Highways is a sign that instead of our roads getting incrementally better over time we are starting to slip backwards.
The road north from Wellington is one of those "special case" roads too whereimproving it is going to cost a lot of cash due to the geography and I am sympathetic to that.
What we are talking about up here are roads that are surrounded by farmland with very little in the way of hills and no rock. There is no reason why these roads could not be improved. Yet they take away our passing lanes and drop the speed instead.
Even more worrying on the Tauranga-Katikati run is they have put rumble strips on the sides of a very busy and skinny road which is pushing cars closer together in the middle (especially on corners) and preventing slower vehicles from pulling over to pass.
intrade,
Dec 22, 7:53pm
there is probably also been plenty of research from europe that when you change the speed limmit avery 200 meter you can make more money by tricking drivers in to driving over the speed limit
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 22, 7:56pm
There is no doubt that that is a consequence. Be it "convenient" or planned.
But apparently we are all perfect individuals and if we miss a speed change it is only a sign of incompetence on our part.
dunwoody,
Dec 22, 7:59pm
Why can't we be just happy to have a road to drive on!It can't do you any better than get to where you want to go. Just relax and enjoy it. I can't understand the mentality of people who "Love to drive" but can't get out of the vehicle qutck enough. You will never beat the clock ever.
tuttyclan,
Dec 22, 8:36pm
Now that the speed limit is 90 km/h from Pokeno to Thames turnoff (well thats how far I went thankfully on that road lol)which is slow enough everyone is doing 80km/h,so fustrating! my car is nearly stalling at that speed ,I might as well bring out the old Vauxhall if the roads are going to be this slow. We need to have 100km/h for most of our motorways and state highways and some of these need to be 110 km/h.
ringo2,
Dec 22, 10:06pm
No jazz you are one of the very few claiming to be the perfect driver.
richard198,
Dec 22, 10:23pm
In the UK they have small "reminder" signs of the speed limit (size of dinner plate) every few hundred metres along most busy roads. I wonder why we don't have them here! I have often found myself wondering what the speed limit is/was since it is not always obvious.
wrong2,
Dec 22, 10:48pm
100 is already painfully slow
i fail to see how people can crash a car at such a slow speed
tonyrockyhorror,
Dec 22, 10:51pm
That was the philosphy behind the reduction of the 100km/h spaghetti junction to 80km/h. It didn't do jack for peak congestion.
tonyrockyhorror,
Dec 22, 10:52pm
It's because NZ drivers are taught only how to pass the driving test not how to drive and very few have any interest in developing their driving skills.
ringo2,
Dec 22, 11:08pm
Because they try going around a 60k bend at 100k and end up killing some poor person who is on his own side of the road.
wrong2,
Dec 22, 11:16pm
well i haven't come across many 60 km/h corners that weren't doable at 100
speed reccomendation signs dont mean much in dry warm weather
pieman33h,
Dec 23, 4:24am
it came in the end of last week, dont think it has made much difference to the time it takes through that bit of road.
typical nz politician reaction to a problem, put up a sign, that will fix it
cuda.340,
Dec 23, 6:15am
i used it friday week ago. can't believe how many cops i saw, especially at the end of the passing lanes. was a bit hard to maintain the 90 as posted. found myself cruising at 100 everytime i checked. reckon it might cause more accidents as more people are watching the speedo not the road.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 23, 6:22am
Thats the point though, its getting a lot harder to just sit back and relax because the constantly changing and often illogical speed restrictions leave you open to getting a ticket. I am not one for excessive speed at all, but my driving pleasure is being eroded by worrying about doing an accidental 1km/h over the limit or being caught out with a speed change.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 23, 6:24am
This is exactly the point. No one is doing any research on what the situation is with extra fatigue and time with eyes off the road caused by this kind of over restricted lunacy.
If you check your speedometer once every seven seconds (like you are supposed to with your rear view mirror) for half a second . Over the course of a 200km car journey your eyes are not focused on the road for 14km.
Now think about that, that's 14km where if a child runs out in front of you after a ball (or somthing else happens) you are not in very good position to react.
Likewise each check of the speedometer reduces your effective following distance by a quarter.
romulan7,
Dec 23, 8:24am
My driving/walking/cycling pleasure and that of my family and community is being put at risk by those who choose to ignore the speed restrictions.Like for example the jokers who think that just because they are cruising along at 100kph (probably more) they do not have to slow down to the posted 70kph that goes through a small town that yes true you blink you miss!BUT the signs are big enough and if you are struggling to maintain speed then really it is not your eyes at fault but the pressure your right foot exerts on that pedal.
I could agree with you about how draconian the zero tolerance is however given that over 70% of the vehicles overread the actual speed and possibly about less than 1% actually under read the risk is extremly low unless you simply choose to ignore the warning signs.
A simple and effective reminder as was pointed out regarding UK roads is to have lower speed limit signs posted a few hundred metres apart within areas that are below the national 100kph limit.Except given the amount of corner advisory speeds I guess that would be confusing to many.
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