John Spring

The front-page article in the NZ Herald yesterday had a headline, Driving down the road toll.

The number of deaths this year sitting at 268 is among the lowest in decades.

If it remains below 272 it will be second lowest since 1951.

Wow. What a tremendous result. It is terrible to think that this many people die on our roads each year.

The experts say the improvement is due to increased enforcement, better driving habits, and improved roads.

On Monday, my wife and I drove over to Ōpōtiki, delivering the Beacon’s Summer Holiday Guide to retailers (a copy is inserted in today’s Beacon).

It’s a lovely drive, despite the rain, but has had a treacherous intersection at Wainui Road and State Highway 2.

However, this has now been replaced with a $10 million roundabout, which was awesome to drive through.

It’s a staggering amount to spend on a roundabout, but it has made that intersection so much more efficient and safer.

Cars now must slow down, rather than taking the pervious corners in a perilous dash across busy roads.

Between 2014 and 2023, there were nine crashes at the intersection, with three resulting in injury and one being serious.

Additionally, there have been 46 crashes in the past 10 years along the Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki area, with seven deaths and 31 serious injuries.

Now whether you’re coming from Whakatāne, Tāneatua or Ōpōtiki, you can feel confident and safe navigating what was once a leap of faith.

By the way, after finishing our deliveries in Ōpōtiki we had a tasty lunch (Thai green curry and fried fish/chips/salad) in the recently reopened Royal Hotel.

Well done to Alan Unsworth for investing in this historic hotel that, according to the pictures in the impressively renovated interior, was originally built in 1878. It was great to see it well patronised, too.

Safe travels over the holiday period.