By Dan Parker
One of the country’s largest transport operators NZ Bus has joined calls for police to crack down on jaywalking pedestrians.
The concern follows a spike in the number of people hurt and – in some cases – killed on Wellington streets.
In the last year, eight people have been hit in the capital’s central city by buses.
But on a far more regular basis, drivers are having near misses; pedestrians just stepping onto the road in front of them.
“Our drivers are saying they get a few every trip through the CBD,” says NZ Bus Chief Risk Officer Paul Hume.
He supports calls for stricter penalties for those who break the rules.
“Anything which raises the awareness of pedestrians and other road users has got to be positive,” Mr Hume says.
The Tramways Union, which represents drivers, wants fines of up to $200 given to those crossing where they shouldn’t.
However, police say enforcement would be too time consuming.
“What we want to do is try and educate people first to see if we can change some behaviour through common sense,” says Road Policing District Manager Inspector Peter Baird.
Police would attempt to do that through education programmes in schools.
Mr Baird says jaywalking isn’t a crime in New Zealand, but fines can be handed out for:
- Crossing against a ‘don’t cross’ sign
- Crossing within 20 metres of a pedestrian crossing
- Failing to cross within 20 metres of traffic signals
- Crossing the road diagonally
- Failing to keep to the footpath
In the last five years, police have issued just 23 infringement notices to pedestrians – 10 of which have been handed out in Wellington. The fines range from $10 to $35.
Increasing those penalties would be the job of the Government, but it says that is not a priority.
3 News
source: newshub archive
