Every driver knows that too many of those road cones set out on our highways aren’t actually connected to any active roadworks. This leaves drivers to decide if that 30kph sign and those cones represent a reason to slow down or not, so we all carry on as if they aren’t there until we get a shock when there actually is a big pothole to avoid. […]
Then we have to deal with miles of cones and ridiculously slow Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) trucks just to protect the one poor bloke with a shovel. This is adding millions, with TTM requirements often costing more than the roadworks themselves. […]
Safety at any cost became our nation’s rule, and we plunged further down the productivity rankings. Now there is fight-back as people realise the costs and worries of this approach. To improve safety, teaching personal responsibility is a good start, and putting realistic values on safety will help.
Are we really made safer by all those cones that drive costs so high that we can’t afford new roads, or by driving building owners bankrupt on the off-chance of an earthquake, when we actually do have storms that we can’t afford to prepare for?
WorkSafe is one of a stack of government departments that deserve the current government’s demand for value. WorkSafe prevents very few accidents, but when one does happen, it is staggering the resources that are suddenly poured into hassling anyone even vaguely connected.
Safety is important, but who really believes the constant claims of it being an organisation’s number one priority? What about customers and profitability?
The Post
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