Specialist Point to point ‘average speed’ cameras are to be installed on State Highway 6 between Kingston and Five Rivers by June in a bid to slow speeding drivers, after NZTA says a survey showed 26% of drivers were speeding in this area.

Police, the Rental Vehicle Association of NZ, Fire and Emergency NZ and Te Anau locals are all very concerned that there’s a serious accident waiting to happen between Queenstown and Milford, with Te Anau Police attending crashes, not all due to speed and mostly involving overseas drivers, every day.

New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) Maintenance and Operations Regional Manager Peter Brown says these cameras will calculate an ‘average speed’ clocked by drivers along that stretch and they will be ticketed accordingly.

“These cameras are proven to help change driver behaviour,” he says.

Police say long lines of drivers also become impatient when unable to pass slow drivers unfamiliar with the roads safely in areas like the southern Devil’s Staircase and that frustration can cause accidents.

Brown agrees that speed on the Queenstown to Milford route is “a serious issue” and “the single biggest risk to both road users and road workers”.

A rental van makes its way to Fiordland's tourist gem, Milford Sound. Photo: Southland App

“We strongly encourage people to allow sufficient time for the journey from Queenstown to Milford Sound, and to consider basing themselves in Te Anau, or travelling by bus,” Brown says.

An Intersection Speed Zone (ISZ) is also proposed for the State Highway 6-State Highway 97 intersection at Five Rivers using electronic signs to automatically and temporarily lower the main highway speed limit when a vehicle is approaching or turning from a side road.

“The proposed ISZ at Five Rivers would temporarily show an enforceable lower speed limit of 60km/h, compared to the usual 100km/h,” Brown says.

This would make it easier and safer for people to pull into or out of State Highway 97 across a high-speed rural road, while avoiding unnecessary delays.

Safety upgrades on the site already have included improved lighting and a right-turn bay.

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that the speed limit on State Highway 94 between Homer Tunnel and Milford Sound would remain at 80km/h.

Southland MP Joseph Mooney says he’s long been pushing for passing bays between Queenstown and Kingston and between Mossburn and Te Anau.

Fiordland locals have too, amid serious concerns about the dangers being posed to all road users.

They’re concerned there are no ‘Keep Left’ passing lanes or pull over bays between Queenstown and Milford.

Te Anau's John Turner said he has been pushing for pull over or passing bays on the Queenstown to Milford Road for years. Photo: Southland App

Resident John Turner’s been pushing for these for a number of years as part of a Mossburn Lions Project, fully supported by the local National Party branch, the Police, the Mossburn and Te Anau Fire Brigades, and the community.

However, NZTA’s Brown says there are “currently no plans for the addition of passing lanes to the Queenstown-Milford route (SH6-SH97-SH94)” as these are “normally considered for roads with higher traffic volumes”.

However, slow vehicle bays will be put forward for funding consideration for the next National Land Transport Programme (2027-30), he says.

The Milford Road Alliance (NZTA-Downer) is also working with DOC to improve access to existing stopping points (way-stops) along the journey and investigating additional way-stops to assist traffic flow and ease congestion at Milford Sound itself, Brown says.

Mooney says the bid for passing bays made it onto National’s campaign policy for the 2020 election “but other priorities around NZ had to receive funding ahead” due to things like weather events.

“We will keep lobbying for NZTA and the Minister of Transport to make these available,” he says.

Mooney says there seems to be no immediate answer to the problem and he’s open to hearing good ideas. Education when tourists collect their rental vehicles would seem like a good idea, he says.

“If someone is not familiar with our road rules, driving on the left-hand side of the road, it would be good for them to get some information in a readily digestible way so they can understand the fundamental road rules.”

Transport Minister Chris Bishop told Southland App recently “all foreign drivers should learn New Zealand’s road rules before driving”.

“Most crashes involving overseas drivers happen for the same reasons as those involving locals; only a minority are due to not adapting to New Zealand conditions,” he says.

“Excessive speeding and dangerous driving are serious issues that put lives at risk.”

The Government is investing $1.335 billion from the National Land Transport Fund in road policing from 2024 to 2027. Efforts focus on tackling risky behaviour, like speeding, Bishop says.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell also said recently it is “incumbent on all drivers to understand and abide by our road laws”.

“Those who do not put their own safety and the safety of others at risk. This is unacceptable, and I expect Police to take appropriate action by enforcing the law.”

Rental Vehicle Association of NZ CEO Ben McFadgen says they’re very concerned about the alarming increase in speeding drivers and near misses and he’s keen to talk to Police and the community about the problem.

They’ve already approached the authorities about getting the heads up ahead on speeding drivers.

Some members have already put immobilisers into vehicles so at 135km/hr to 140km/hr drivers are warned. Next time they reach that speed the vehicle is immobilised after they’ve stopped.

He said recently they would “conceivably look at some sort of intervention if the community believed there was a need due to the perceived risk of driving into Milford”.

“It’s in our interests as we get all sorts of damage otherwise,” he said.

McFadgen is meeting with NZTA representatives again this week in a bid to get some urgent action and find suitable solutions, after an initial meeting last week.

Brown also says outside of the ongoing enforcement by Police and road safety campaigns by NZTA, “a number of initiatives are proposed, underway or have been carried out to increase the safety of users of this route”.

Sue Fea is a senior journalist with more than 40-years experience covering police, social and general news in the southern regions.