Council hopes to ‘get on top' of staff speeding
A Southern council is upping the ante as it clamps down on speeding work cars.
Environment Southland vehicles are fitted with devices in all vehicles which record speeding events later sent to managers.
Every quarter, a summary is presented to the council showing the results.
The most recent set of data revealed a jump in the number of events where the speed limit was exceeded by more than 10kmh, with a total of 458 recorded from January to March.
That number was an increase of 51 from the previous period.
Council health and safety manager Paul le Roux said proactive action was happening at the council as a result of the bump.
An increase in reporting was the focus, so that managers could receive information weekly instead of monthly.
The goal was to intervene more quickly and "get on top" of the speeding, Mr le Roux said.
Overtaking manoeuvres were still proving an issue, as were areas where speed limits had changed, he said.
Council reports also highlight speeding events where the limit was exceeded by more than 20kmh.
Nineteen such events were recorded in the most recent quarter, up from just four in the previous.
Despite the overall increase between the two most recent quarters, numbers were down on the whole.
For the quarters ending June 2024 and September 2024, there were 856 and 884 recorded incidents, respectively.
Council cars are fitted with both a monitoring system and an audible alarm that goes off when the speed limit is exceeded.
The council regularly notes the size of the region in its reporting, with 220,367km travelled in work cars over the most recent reporting period.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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A Southern council is upping the ante as it clamps down on speeding work cars. Environment Southland vehicles are fitted with devices in all vehicles which record speeding events later sent to managers. Every quarter, a summary is presented to the council showing the results. The most recent set of data revealed a jump in the number of events where the speed limit was exceeded by more than 10kmh, with a total of 458 recorded from January to March. That number was an increase of 51 from the previous period. Council health and safety manager Paul le Roux said proactive action was happening at the council as a result of the bump. An increase in reporting was the focus, so that managers could receive information weekly instead of monthly. The goal was to intervene more quickly and "get on top" of the speeding, Mr le Roux said. Overtaking manoeuvres were still proving an issue, as were areas where speed limits had changed, he said. Council reports also highlight speeding events where the limit was exceeded by more than 20kmh. Nineteen such events were recorded in the most recent quarter, up from just four in the previous. Despite the overall increase between the two most recent quarters, numbers were down on the whole. For the quarters ending June 2024 and September 2024, there were 856 and 884 recorded incidents, respectively. Council cars are fitted with both a monitoring system and an audible alarm that goes off when the speed limit is exceeded. The council regularly notes the size of the region in its reporting, with 220,367km travelled in work cars over the most recent reporting period. • LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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