Tag Archives: nrma president

Wendy Machin’s Christmas Message

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Wendy Machin, President of NRMA Motoring & Services

Is it just me or are the years going faster?  This Christmas seemed to arrive about three weeks after the last one! I saw my first Santa Claus on the streets in early November!

I guess that shows what a busy year it has been for everyone.  For the NRMA Board a State election and then our own Board elections has meant a busy time for the Directors.  I was pleased to see that many of the issues we advocated for in our “Seeing Red on Roads” state election campaign were picked up and implemented by the new Government.  And I was delighted to see all nine Directors resoundingly returned to serve on the Board in our own elections – the first time this has happened since demutualisation.

For the Group, the financial results last year were very good, with continuing growth in the number of Members joining us and yet another Award for Service Excellence for our brilliant Roadside Assistance service.

On behalf of the Board I want to thank our Members for your continued loyalty and wish all of you a happy and safe Christmas break.

Best wishes

Wendy Machin

President

Stuck on the F3

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On Monday April 12, motorists were stuck in gridlock on the F3 Freeway after a crash involving a B-double fuel tanker at Mount White.

The crash occurred just before lunch time, however, a contra-flow emergency plan was not put in place until late in the evening. Traffic was backed up for a significant distance during the evening peak hour.

NRMA Motoring & Services President Wendy Machin said the RTA’s traffic management plan for dealing with incidents on the F3 needs a major overhaul.

The NRMA’s analysis of the F3 traffic management plan has found:

•  Two years after the $28 million plan was announced, it appears that five of the proposed cross-overs still have not been installed.
•  The cross-over located south of the crash site could have been used to divert northbound traffic onto the F3′s southbound lanes. The two cross-overs just north of the crash could then have been used to re-divert traffic back on to northbound lanes. None of these three cross-overs are finished.
•  Purpose-built sheds to store traffic cones and water supplies may be situated away from the cross-over sites, making it harder for contra-flow to be quickly put into place.
•  After the incident was contained, the priority should have shifted to managing its traffic impact. This does not appear to have happened.
•  Insufficient information was given to motorists approaching the F3 or those already caught in the congestion. 

The RTA’s traffic management plan was also supposed to enable the RTA and State emergency services to quickly distribute bottled water to stranded motorists.

“Instead, NRMA patrols on the freeway encountered many distressed motorists and provided bottled water of their own accord,” Ms Machin said.

According to the RTA website, the F3 Freeway is the main link between the Central Coast and Hunter regions and Sydney, with more than 75,000 motorists and 7000 freight vehicles using it each day.

What needs to be done to avoid extended delays on our roads? Were you stuck on the F3?

School zones – have your say

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NRMA President Wendy Machin recently commented on the importance of flashing lights in school zones to indicate when they are in operation.

“Children’s safety is paramount – drivers’ awareness needs to be drawn to the presence of school children and that’s what flashing lights achieve,” she said.

However, the NRMA has concerns about the rate flashing lights are being rolled out.

A study conducted by the RTA in 2006 “indicated that flashing lights were effective in reducing vehicle speed outside schools during the operation of the 40 km/h school speed zone.”

In spite of this, only 10 per cent NSW’s 3,100 schools have flashing lights, with 100 sets per year being scheduled for installation over the next four years.

School zones were introduced to NSW in December 2002 to reduce the chance of fatalities in school areas. They ensure that motorists slow down to 40km/h during times when children are on the way to and from school.

The problem with this is that it can be unclear to motorists when school zones are in operation. School Zones come into effect only on school days. Therefore, during school and public holidays the school zones do not operate. This can be confusing to anybody who does not have kids – although it’s not an excuse if you get caught speeding.

For more information, visit the RTA School Zones page.

Have you found School Zones easier to identify when they have flashing lights? Is there more that could be done to improve the way School Zones work?

Motorists say time-of-day tolling has not worked

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A survey of 1,800 motorists in north and north-west Sydney has found that motorists believe the time-of-day tolling system on the Harbour Bridge is a failure.

The NRMA survey found 91 per cent believe the new tax has failed, NRMA Group CEO Tony Stuart said.

“Eleven per cent of motorists are using alternative routes to get to work, while 90-odd per cent are paying more for the privilege of just getting to and from work,” Mr Stuart said.

“All that so a mere 560 cars can travel before peak-hour per day. That’s not a solution to the problem and at best is moving the problem to another congested road.”

The release of the survey results coincided with the launch of RoadTube.com.au, a new site that gives motorists a place to air their frustrations and offer solutions to the state’s growing transport problems.

“RoadTube is part of NRMA’s campaign to Get NSW Moving Again,” Mr Stuart said.

“We are urging motorists to join the NRMA for this all-important campaign to fix the mess – we want to hear your views on issues such as the quality of roads and public transport, fuels, demerits, licensing and road safety.

NRMA President Wendy Machin said Get NSW Moving Again was borne of frustration among our members about the massive backlog of capital works needed across NSW.

“More than three-quarters [of those surveyed] believe they are being forced to pay for the mistakes of successive State Governments,” Ms Machin said.

“The Government is trying to fight congestion by raising taxes, but the solution is to upgrade our roads, improve public transport and build more parking to get people out of their cars and on to buses and trains.”

Has time of day tolling reduced congestion or made you rethink how you travel across the Harbour Bridge?

Epping Road’s cycleway – good, bad or mad?

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NRMA Motoring & Services’ President Alan Evans last week questioned the logic and safety of the proposed $7.5 million cycleway on Epping Road (SMH 14/01/08). Given that only a small number of cyclists use it, compared with the 35,000 cars each day, he said that motorists face severe congestion between Mowbray and Longueville Roads when Epping Road is converted to a singe lane of traffic, a bus lane and a cycleway.

Alan Evans states that the NRMA supports cyclists where it is safe but “imposing cycleways on major arterial roads and worsening traffic congestion in the process simply does not make sense.”

He believes that placing the cycleway next to a heavily congested arterial is not the best or safest option for Epping Road. The cycleway could create more congestion by constricting the width and number of traffic lanes. If there is a crash in the Lane Cove tunnel and traffic is diverted to the single lane on Epping Road, cars and buses could be queued back to the city.

Some of the NRMA’s suggestions forwarded to the RTA include converting the bus lane into a T2 lane to encourage car pooling and widening the traffic lanes.

Have your say about the planned cycleway for Epping Road.

Read the full article here