Reckless drivers scare Dunedin road workers

Council contractor Jamie Stewart says speeding motorists are causing concern for road workers on...
Council contractor Jamie Stewart says speeding motorists are causing concern for road workers on Cannington Rd. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Dunedin City Council contractors are irate at the behaviour of speeding motorists, who they say are endangering the safety of road workers at sites in Maori Hill.

Contractors carrying out roading maintenance on Maori Hill routes say many motorists are not observing speed limits at works sites.

Foreman Jamie Stewart said the behaviour of drivers, travelling through a roadworks site in Cannington Rd recently, was "the worst I've seen".

A contracting crew of up to six workers had been carrying out a maintenance and reseal operation in Cannington Rd and "speeding motorists not keeping an eye on speed restrictions" were causing issues.

"My main concern is one of the crew getting hit by a car. But there is also the safety of other motorists on the road," Mr Stewart said.

Drivers were not only ignoring speed limits of 30km - Mr Stewart said some motorists travelled at up to 70km through the site - they were also failing to keep to their side of the road.

Peak traffic times in the morning commuting rush, at lunch time and after work were when "the driving really gets bad".

Mr Stewart said he wanted to raise awareness on behalf of all roading contractors about the safety issues speeding drivers created, a problem he said was endemic at sites throughout Dunedin.

Police traffic units had been notified this week and had issued tickets to motorists after observing their driving behaviour during a visit to the Cannington Rd site, Mr Stewart said.

 

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