A new set of average speed cameras is set to be installed on a Northland road next week.
Four cameras will be installed on Kaitaia-Awaroa Road from Monday, July 28.
NZTA said the cameras were intended to reduce the number of motorists speeding on the road to reduce the likelihood of serious crashes.
Outer cameras would be installed near Sandhills Road in Ahipara at one end and the 80km/h speed limit sign at the Kaitaia end. The two cameras in the middle would be set up near the speed limit signs near 655 Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd and 854 Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd.
NZTA said the four cameras would work together, measuring the average speed drivers travelled between them.
“Drivers will only be ticketed if their average travel speed between any two cameras is over the limit – they aren’t ‘pinged’ by a single camera or at a single point where they are over the speed limit.”
Signs notifying drivers about the cameras would be installed to make sure drivers slowed down before reaching the camera zone.
“We know that average speed safety cameras are more effective at reducing deaths and serious injuries than the traditional speed cameras we’ve had in New Zealand. Safety cameras will reduce speeding, ensuring that, if crashes do happen, the people involved are far more likely to walk away unharmed,” NZTA Auckland and Northland director of regional relationships Steve Mutton said.
In the five years between 2018 and 2023, two people were killed and 13 were injured in crashes on the stretch of road. An NZTA Survey from May 2024 found that around 75% of drivers were speeding along the length at an average speed of 89 km/h across both 80 km/h and 60 km/h areas.
“The types of crashes that happen, and are likely to happen, on this stretch of road, the volume of traffic, and driver behaviour all tell us that there is a serious risk of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes on Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd,” Mutton said.
“We also know that risk can be significantly reduced if more people drive to the speed limit. By installing safety cameras here we can encourage just that.”
The first average speed camera on Matakana Rd in Warkworth was expected to be operational later this year, with more cameras expected to be brought online in the following months.
