Tag Archives: nrma

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

NSW’s worst road spots revealed – Red Flag survey results

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The NRMA’s Seeing Red on Roads campaign kicks off today with the results of our red flag survey.

Back in December we asked you what you thought were the worst sections of roads in NSW. The feedback from our Members and the community was impressive, with more than 9000 community members taking the time to tell us about the most frustrating road spots in their local area.

The five worst road spots in NSW were:

1.         Pacific Highway between Coffs Harbour and Macksville
2.         Princes Highway between Berry and Bateman’s Bay
3.         M5 Motorway at the King Georges Road intersection
4.         Pennant Hills Road between the M2 and F3
5.         M4 Motorway where the toll gates used to be at Auburn

See the full Red Flag survey results.

The campaign will run over the next seven weeks fighting to make roads a central theme in the NSW state election.

This campaign is designed to make politicians accountable for roads, ensuring they deliver better and safer roads for NSW. However we can’t do it alone – we need your help.

If you want to get involved come along to one of our events being held across NSW and sign our red flag petition. These flags will be handed over to the next government after the election. Events are taking place at the following dates and locations:

Friday 4 February 2011 – Port Macquarie
Tuesday 8 February 2011 – Wagga
Wednesday 9 February 2011 – Dubbo
Tuesday 15 February 2011 – Bateman’s Bay

If you want to talk about the campaign or the results of the survey here is your chance to be heard.  What frustrates you most on NSW roads?

Update 11:45am 03 Feb 2011

#Redflag survey has been reopened due to community requests

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?

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?

NRMA’s new video site allows motorists to air their frustrations with NSW roads

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RoadTube.com.au, a new website from NRMA Motoring & Services, allows NSW motorists to upload videos and have a say on the state of our roads. The website asks users to post comments and upload videos or watch and then rate the other videos on the site.

Launched on March 16, 2009, the site already has a number of entries, with users discussing everything from tolls and peak hour traffic, to drivers using their mobile phones and left lanes ending too quickly.

In conjunction with the site’s launch, three portable ‘NRMA toll booths’ will tour NSW and allow the public to record and post videos about how our roads can be improved.

If you’d like your frustrations and solutions to the state’s transport problems seen and heard, go to RoadTube.com.au or visit one of the RoadTube booths and get NSW moving again.