New Zealand / Politics

Higher traffic fines still stuck in the slow lane

06:54 am on 31 October 2024

Some fines for traffic offences have not been raised for years. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

Higher traffic fines are still being considered by the government, three years after work began on raising the penalties.

Some fines have not been raised much - or at all - for years.

The government's road safety objectives - released this month - says it is reviewing the penalties.

But its document only listed targets for the numbers of offences apprehended, and did not detail how penalties might rise.

"The scope of this review is still under consideration and subject to the transport minister's decisions," the transport ministry told RNZ.

It did similar work on lifting the penalties in 2021, 2022 and 2023 but "the former government did not take decisions on the work", it said in a statement.

Three years ago, under the now-defunct Road to Zero plan, officials first conducted "a systematic review of road safety penalties".

The government's 2024 policy statement on land transport said it would "review penalties for traffic offences including consideration of indexing the value of infringements to inflation" as part of reforms targeting the highest contributing factors to fatal road crashes.