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Speaker 1: News Talk zibby the Trauma Surgeon's Committee. I had no

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Speaker 1: idea there was such a thing. But the Trauma New

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Speaker 1: Zealand Trauma Surgeon's Committee believe the government's plan to increase

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Speaker 1: speed limits will ultimately lead to more deaths, injuries and

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Speaker 1: traffic overall, and they've made a statement about this. They

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Speaker 1: warn that New Zealand doesn't have the appropriate infrastructure for

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Speaker 1: high speed travel, and they warn that many parents are

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Speaker 1: fearful of speed increases around schools. And Chris Wakeman, Doctor

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Speaker 1: Chris Wakeman is the chair of the Trauma Surgeons Committee

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Speaker 1: and joins us this Friday Night Halla Chris, good evening.

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Speaker 1: Why do you believe the speed increases will lead to

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Speaker 1: more deaths?

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Speaker 2: We know that from international studies, but even just since

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty when these speed limits were reduced in Auckland

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Speaker 2: that have the rate of the mortality of injury in

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Speaker 2: New Aukland region. We know international studies the pedestrian zones

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Speaker 2: having those at thirty k's an hour again halves the

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Speaker 2: rate of death from pedestrian injuries and that's why well

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Speaker 2: established in such studies as London, Edinburgh, Paris and Berlin.

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Speaker 1: Can you give us some numbers on that, because I

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Speaker 1: have to say many people have said this already on

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Speaker 1: this issue, and they always say, you know, it prevents deaths,

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Speaker 1: and then everyone goes, well how many and you don't

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Speaker 1: get numbers, and I think numbers help well.

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Speaker 2: The data from Auckland have suggested since twenty twenty they

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Speaker 2: have halved the rate, so that and that's considerable.

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Speaker 1: You see what you see what I mean? You know

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Speaker 1: if they've halved the rate, that maybe one person actually

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Speaker 1: got injured instead of two. Or is it twenty ten

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Speaker 1: instead of twenty what? Or is it twenty What.

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Speaker 2: Are we try to what are we trying to achieve

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Speaker 2: by increasing the rates the speed lay rates? Do we

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Speaker 2: really believe that it is going to increase productivity the country?

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Speaker 2: I mean, I think that's the Minister's Are Transports response

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Speaker 2: that by speeding the spending the roads up is going

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Speaker 2: to speed the country up to speed. We've got no

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Speaker 2: proof of this. No, I know that it's going to

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Speaker 2: increase injuries.

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Speaker 1: And that can I say while I ask you for numbers,

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Speaker 1: I've asked them for numbers as well, and they don't

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Speaker 1: have numbers either.

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Speaker 2: This is a whole lot. I don't have the numbers

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Speaker 2: as chair of the committee.

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Speaker 1: Own okay, and sometimes Simeon doesn't have the numbers about

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Speaker 1: the increasing productivity. In fact, it was specifically that and

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Speaker 1: he didn't have the answer either. So here we have

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Speaker 1: a debate where everyone's yelling at each other, but nobody

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Speaker 1: actually really has numbers.

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Speaker 2: Yes, we've got percentages in the data from the Auckland,

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Speaker 2: the Healthy Auckland Getting Together research group.

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Speaker 1: So, knowing that the law has already been passed, what

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Speaker 1: are you hoping for for making these statements right now?

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Speaker 2: What education? Regarding that it's not necessarily the right thing,

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Speaker 2: but also I feel strongly that we need to address

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Speaker 2: some of the problems with our roads. I'm in South Islander.

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Speaker 2: If I drive from christ to want Actor, for instance,

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Speaker 2: as soon as I turn off towards Gerial days, there's

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Speaker 2: no passing lanes. There's immediate strips roads a B grade

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Speaker 2: at the best roads, the only A grade roads into

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Speaker 2: international what's called an international A grade road where it's

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Speaker 2: safe to travel one hundred and ten kilometers an hour,

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Speaker 2: places like the Waikato Express Place.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, I can give you an example. I can

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Speaker 1: give you an example closer to you, and that's Lake

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Speaker 1: har were where there's a school just outside of the lake.

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Speaker 1: It's actually in the rural areas. It's in a one

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Speaker 1: hundred k zone and yet parents are coming there to

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Speaker 1: pick up and drop off kids all the time, and

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Speaker 1: it feels probably dangerous and you would think that anybody

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Speaker 1: would want that a decrease in the in the speed

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Speaker 1: limits in those areas.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, And the thing we also forget about is

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Speaker 2: because originally we wrote to the Minister of Health, Minister

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Speaker 2: Transport and acc and the not on effect from accidents

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Speaker 2: as far as acc the cost of the country, the

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Speaker 2: cost of the re times trying to get into rehab

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Speaker 2: institutions is huge, has a very limited head injury rehab institutions.

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Speaker 2: The only one for children is Auckland for instance, so

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Speaker 2: South Island head and children have to go to Auckland

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Speaker 2: for rehab. We're very underfunded for rehab and this is

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Speaker 2: just going to make things worse.

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Speaker 1: Well, very good, doctor Chris Wakeman. I thank you so

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Speaker 1: much and all the best and enjoy your weekend. And

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Speaker 1: this is news Talk ZEBB. Some people say, well, should

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Speaker 1: we always make all the limits thirty kilometers and then

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Speaker 1: we'll never have deaths or injuries. No, I don't believe so.

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Speaker 1: I believe that you should have the appropriate speed for

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Speaker 1: the appropriate road, and some of our roads are not

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Speaker 1: appropriate to be going fifty on, let alone one hundred,

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Speaker 1: and some of our roads are absolutely appropriate for going

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Speaker 1: one and one hundred and twenty. I would like to

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Speaker 1: see variability in our speed limits, but apparently some un

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Speaker 1: believes in a blanket speed limit.

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