Seeing red on our roads

• Published date: 26 April 2024
• Author: Janine Baalbergen
• Publication title: Horowhenua Chronicle

But to many humans these cones seem to have the same effect a red cloth has on a bull: they fly into a rage

Rage against obstruction, rage against people seemingly standing around doing nothing. And woe betide those amongst them who dare to pull out a phone, a cigarette or get handed a coffee.

“Loitering, time-wasting, no wonder our country goes to pot with such lack of efficiency, not to mention lack of productivity.”

Stop-go workers, exposed to all elements, get a lot thrown at them from the general public, who seem to know they could do a much better job. All while those workers are doing a dangerous job.

Electra chief executive Geoff Douch said it is all about safety, for those doing the work and those passing by: from motorists to pedestrians. “Sometimes they need permission for the next stage of the job and the person granting that may not be there at that time.

“Until they get that permission or a sign off, they must wait and stand around. They cannot leave until the job is done. It is the law.

“So: they have to wait ... standing around, or so it may seem to many, taking the time to get a coffee, or calling the boss. Electrical work is dangerous for all involved,” he said.

In a recent incident on Whyte St in Foxton, on the corner of State Highway 1, his team had to replace a transformer. “To do that they first needed to stop the power from going into the transformer. A supervisor had to okay the next stage of the job, so they had to wait to get what they had done signed off.

“Because it was on the corner with a state highway the safety requirements are even stricter than they would be if it was just a suburban street.

“It is a legal requirement to have traffic management in place prior to the job starting, and the people who are in charge of management must stay there until the job is completed and our staff have left.

“In this case we had three or four staff on the ground doing the job required plus a few extra safety people to watch what was happening above their heads.

“We need to keep our people safe and ensure no lines come down on to the road, by accident. Hence some of them...