I SUPPORT THE PLANNED GOVERNMENT LEVIES ON NEW DIESEL AND PETROL UTES

 I live in a rural/coastal area where the roads have changed little from the time that they were dirt or gravel. Apart from sealing and occasional resealing and some minor camber adjustments the roads are just as dangerous as they would have been 50 years ago - maybe more dangerous because vehicles are capable of much higher speeds now.

The speed limits vary on the 25 minute drive from town to the end of the 'Heads' changing from 50 to open road to 70 to open road to 50 to open road to 50 and to open road again. 'Open Road' or derestricted speed limit allows drivers to drive up to 100km/h depending on conditions.

The problem with this though is that many people don't have a clue as to what this means and just assume that the speed limit is 100 km/hr. The morons who drive those behemoth utes and trucks - I term them 'The Builders' - certainly don't drive to conditions and hurtle along the windy and hilly roads at 100km/hr and above and tailgate any sensible person in front of them.

It's not uncommon to see cars that have gone off the road in the area particularly during or just after rainstorms. Lobbying council to fix things has been difficult and is an on-going task for the local citizen associations. Council only have limited powers in roading rules and bow to NZTA rulings which are usually non sensible and take years to change or improve anything. What I, and others would like to see is a maximum of 80 or 70 km/hr speed limit on the safer and straighter bits of road from town to the end of the 'Heads' and 50km/hr for everything else. Of course this is unlikely to happen and will elicit negative lobbying from the builders and their stupid WAGs who drive overpowered hatchbacks and all think that they are rally drivers - a modern dangerous phenomenon that is encouraged by irresponsible new car advertisements.

Empirical knowledge will be the only way that they will learn that on windy and dangerous roads heed is more important than speed.