Six new red light safety cameras are operating in Auckland from today, adding to six already in operation that have issued 2314 infringements in just two and a half months.
The new cameras, which are enforced on a rotational basis, are operating at:
- Great South Road and Cavendish Drive – two sites
- Te Irirangi Drive and Accent Drive – two sites
- Great North Road and Rata Street
- Great South Road and Reagan Road
“The purpose of the cameras is to save lives and stop injuries,” says Mayor Phil Goff.
“That is why we are telling people where the cameras are and that they are operating from today.
“There is a culture among some drivers that red lights don’t matter and can be ignored. That is blatantly wrong and puts the safety of others on the road – drivers, pedestrians and people on bikes – at risk.
“When red light cameras were trialled between 2008 and 2010, there was a 43 per cent reduction in red-light running and an average 63 per cent decrease in crashes attributable to red light running.
“That’s what we want to see happening again. Yet between 21 June and 7 September this year, 2314 infringements were issued from the six cameras that are already running. That’s 30 times a day motorists put their own lives and the lives of others at risk.
“With deaths and serious injuries increasing on Auckland roads by 78 per cent in the last four years, three times the national average, we have to change this attitude. That’s why we are installing the additional cameras,” Mayor Phil Goff says.
The new cameras are in addition to the six red light cameras that began enforcing in June.
Money from infringements goes to the Crown’s National Consolidated Fund.
AT’s Chief Executive, Shane Ellison, says the installation of red light safety cameras will help save lives.
“We are committed to reducing death and serious injuries on our roads by 60 per cent in the next ten years.
“We are installing six cameras per year at high-risk intersections as part of our work to make our roads safer, alongside a number of other projects including speed management and physical improvements to high-risk corridors and intersections.
“No one should die or be seriously injured on our roads and we are pleased to be working so closely with NZ Police to make our roads safer.”
NZ Police’s Superintendent Steve Greally, National Manager for Road Policing, says the risk of running red lights is just not worth it.
“You’ve got to ask yourself, is it worth crashing and risking injury – or worse – killing yourself or someone else?”
$700 million will be invested in road safety improvements in the next 10 years, partly funded by the Regional Fuel Tax.
