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Changes to New Zealand’s warrant of fitness system, which will see annual inspections for cars registered after 2000, will save motorists time and money and will also focus on road safety, says Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

The key changes to the warrant of fitness system (WoF) include:

As most children prepare to go back to school next week, Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges has today announced a significant increase in variable speed limit signs. This is part of a wider rural school safety programme launched today.

"Road safety around rural schools is a major concern in many rural communities, where parents dropping off and picking up their children must also deal with high-speed through traffic,” says Mr Bridges.

The introduction of time limits for learner and restricted licences is part of this Government’s continuing focus on the safety of young and novice drivers, Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges announced today.

“The Government intends to limit learner and restricted licence periods to five years to encourage drivers to move through the Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS),” said Mr Bridges.

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges says the record low holiday road toll is encouraging but efforts need to continue to improve road safety.

Six people died on the roads during the official holiday period which ran from 4pm on 24 December to 6am this morning.

During the Christmas and New Year period last year 19 people were killed, 65 seriously injured and 335 received minor injuries. Injury statistics for the 2012/13 holiday period will take several months to finalise.

The lowest road toll recorded previously was 8 in 1959/60.

The provisional road toll for 2012 is 306, Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges announced today.  This compares with 284 in 2011, 375 in 2010, and 385 in 2009.  This year’s road roll is the second lowest in the last 60 years.

“Although the 2012 toll is one of the lowest on record, I’m saddened that it is an increase on the 2011 toll,” says Mr Bridges.

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges is urging road users to do their bit to be safe on the roads these holidays.

“The 2012 road toll is already higher than the 2011 toll and we still have the busiest holiday period of the year to come. The seven tragic deaths in the central north island yesterday remind us why extra vigilance is needed in the Christmas season.

“It can be tempting to rush to see loved ones or to get on holiday sooner but the consequences can be irreversibly devastating.

The Government is working hard across the board to promote and improve water safety, Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges said today at the Folau Malu event at Auckland’s Mangere Bridge.

Folau Malu translates to “journey safely”, and is aimed at promoting safe boating to the Pacific community.

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges has welcomed new risk-ratings that show significant improvements in the safety of New Zealand’s state highway network, at the launch of the latest KiwiRAP road assessment results today in the Bay of Plenty.

KiwiRAP (New Zealand Road Assessment Programme) measures crash risk on nearly 11,000 kilometres of state highway, identifying high-risk roads to help target safety improvements.

The Government has amended the 2007 Vehicle Exhaust Emissions Rule following public consultation, Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges has announced.

“It’s important for both people’s health and the safety of vehicles entering the fleet that this rule is updated.  In general, the newer the vehicle, the higher the standard of safety features.”

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges has thanked the public and the transport sector for their excellent response to the Government’s call for feedback on proposed changes to vehicle licensing systems.

“Approximately 4200 submissions were made during the six week public consultation period which ended yesterday," says Mr Bridges.

“This is a huge response to the ideas and options presented in the discussion document, demonstrating how much interest there is in our vehicle licensing systems.

People wanting to have their say on Vehicle Licensing Reform have one week left to make a submission before the 31 October deadline, says Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

The Vehicle Licensing Reform project, jointly led by the Ministry of Transport and the NZ Transport Agency, is looking at ways to improve the following systems:

Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges is urging drivers to take care this holiday weekend.

“Labour Day weekend is traditionally a busy one so it’s important to remember that being safe on the roads is everyone’s responsibility.”

Last year’s toll was high – there were eight deaths, 17 serious injuries and 92 minor injuries.

“Most crashes are caused by preventable actions.  If drivers are focused, drive to the conditions and obey speed limits then our holiday roads will be much safer.”

A new rule that raises the upper limit for the mandatory use of child restraints is a sensible move to help keep more of our children safe on the roads, says Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges.

“International and local research shows that in the event of a crash, young school age passengers are at considerable risk if they are only restrained by an adult seatbelt.

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges is inviting people to have their say on options to make New Zealand’s vehicle licensing systems simpler and more efficient.

“The current systems have been in place for decades and affect every vehicle owner and driver so we need to be sure the rationale for all of these are still clear and justified.”

The Vehicle Licensing Reform project, jointly led by the Ministry of Transport and the NZ Transport Agency, is looking at ways to refine the following systems:

Twenty-five per cent of the motorists who have died on the roads so far this year were not wearing their safety belts, says Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

“We know safety belts can be the difference between life and death, and many of these deaths will have been preventable. I urge road users to take responsibility for their safety – take this simple step to stay safe.”

Changes to the graduated motorcycle licensing system, to ensure novice motorcyclists are better prepared to drive safely on the road, will come into force over the next couple of months, says Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

“Motorcyclists are 20 times more at risk of suffering death or serious injury than car drivers over the same distance travelled, and increasing and improving motorcycle safety is a priority area in the Government’s Safer Journeys strategy.”

Effective from 1 October are the following:

Research commissioned by the Ministry of Transport is increasing understanding of the issues involved in combatting drugged driving in New Zealand, says Associate Minister of Transport Simon Bridges.

“The drug driving law is working well and helping to take impaired drivers off the road. However, continuing research is essential. A study released today has shown there are areas where we need to be vigilant, such as drivers detected with alcohol and cannabis in their system who were deemed to have caused a crash.”

Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson and Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges have launched a new action plan to bring down the unacceptable number of workplace injuries experienced by the fishing sector.

The Fishing Sector Action Plan identifies concrete actions for reducing this rate of harm, including implementation of a proposed new Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS) and Qualifications and Operational Limits Framework (QOL).

Rail Safety Week is a timely reminder for all drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to be aware of the dangers around rail tracks and crossings, Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges said today at the launch of this year’s Rail Safety Week at Wellington Railway Station.

This year’s Rail Safety Week campaign aims to reduce trespassing on rail tracks — the leading cause of railway related deaths in New Zealand — and encouraging safe behaviour around stations and pedestrian crossings.

Starting next month New Zealand courts will have the ability to require serious or repeat drink-drivers to have alcohol interlock devices fitted to their vehicles.

“Interlocks are the latest in a raft of important new measures being introduced to reduce deaths and injuries caused by drink-drivers as part of the Government’s Safer Journeys strategy,” says Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges says changes to the rules for agricultural vehicles will reduce compliance costs while still ensuring safety.

In September 2011 a review was initiated into the laws regulating the 40,000 registered agricultural vehicles in New Zealand in response to the sector’s concerns the laws do not take into account the special nature of agricultural vehicles or the demands of agricultural production.

Changes to the Maritime Rule covering the design and construction of fishing boats, and the equipment used on them, will improve safety, lift compliance and better meet the needs of the fishing industry, says Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

Amendments to Part 40D (Design, Construction and Equipment – Fishing Ships) make the Rule more applicable to vessels less than 24m in length, which make up more than 90 per cent of the 1070 vessels in the New Zealand fishing fleet.

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges is concerned by the recent spate of road crashes and says these show the need to continue progress in improving safety. 

“July has been a tragic month on the roads, and my thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones.

“At 161, our road toll is six higher than it was at this time last year, yet the number of fatal crashes is down by 11. This means that the crashes that are occurring are resulting in multiple fatalities.”

A new driver licence for commercial jet boat drivers operating on rivers adds a further level of safety assurance for one of New Zealand’s iconic outdoor adventure activities, Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges said today.

The new licence, as well as on-going competency checks for all drivers, is part of the Maritime Rule Part 82: Commercial Jet Boat Operations – River.