New safety initiative for coastal bars

Traffic lights on dangerous coastal bars are to be trialled as part of a joint injury prevention initiative from ACC, Coastguard New Zealand, Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Maritime New Zealand, ACC Minister Nick Smith announced today in Greymouth.

“Coastal bars are high risk areas in which 12 New Zealanders have drowned in the past decade. It can be very difficult to assess how dangerous conditions can be, particularly from sea. This initiative is about improving safety by warning boat users when a bar is at its most dangerous.” Dr Smith said.

ACC has invested $100,000 in the Coastal Bar Risk Management Tool as part of its drowning prevention strategy. The tool analyses information from incidents and near misses at specific coastal bars. An example of mitigation relative to conditions is a traffic light warning system that could be viewed by boat users on shore and at sea to indicate whether conditions were safe (green), hazardous (orange) or dangerous (red) based on wave, flow, tidal and weather information.

“The conditions on coastal bars change quite rapidly with the tides and flood flows from rivers. Lives would be saved by boat users delaying crossing the bar until conditions improve,” Dr Smith said.

The new tool is to be trialled on the Buller and Waimakariri River mouths in 2012 and 2013. ACC has contracted Coastguard New Zealand to evaluate another 30 sites around New Zealand for potential use of the tool.

“There is no substitute for good boating skills and safety judgement but these modern tools can help improve the safety of our most dangerous boating sites,” Dr Smith said.