Sign damage costing thousands

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 12, 21 August 1984, Page 12

Sign damage costing thousands

In the territory of the Automobile Association, Wanganui — which encompasses the area including Waverley, Raetihi, Ohakune, Waiouru, Taihape, Feilding, Marton and Wanganui — an amount in excess of $ Ti 0,000 is spent annually for erection and maintenance of the signposting system of which 35% is spent in rectifying damage estimated to. have been caused by vandalism. This Signbreaker - Lawbreaker Campaign from 15 August to 28 September aims to: •Trim the massive expense incurred in repair/ replacement of road signs damaged by vandals. •To foster opinion within society that signs, theft and vandalism is not to be taken lightly. •To reinforce public awareness of the signs network and its importance. •To further uplift the public profile of the A.A. It is estimated $350,000 is wasted each year in New Zealand through vandalism of rpad signs. The figure may well be higher — exact causes of some signbreakage can be difficult to determine. But it is clear the cost is rising annually.

This is a senseless sum. Signbreakage, whether smashing signs, defacing them or taking them as souvenirs, is a negative, anti-social activity. It can even be dangerous. Yet few people give it a thought. AA is out to cut the cost — and cut down the sign breakers. Considerable expenditure is involved. AA considers the problem serious enough to warrant a concerted effort to beat it. Financial assistance is being provided by the National Roads Board. Signbreakage hits everyone in the pocket. The great majority of AA signposting is funded 75% by the taxpayer via the National Roads Board, 25% by the local AA from members'funds. Soeveryone pays, many pay twice, since the funding flows through into signbreakage repair. Signbreakage is much more widely spread than is often thought — as indeed is the signs network. Not cheap And it is not cheap to repair a given sign. While the cost of the timber and paintwork may not be exorbitant, a reportedly broken sign needs to be checked by the local AA officer. If it cannot be repaired on the spot, it needs to be taken back to the office — perhaps many kilometres away. Once repaired, it needs to be re-sited. The cost rises quickly, with vehicle mileage and staff time. The network of signs built up over almost a century is so great nobody knows just how many therer are. Some estimates say a million signs are included in the AA collection nationwide. Consider when signs are missing. Inconvenient for travellers, especially tourists in this age of the importance of overseas revenue. But worse: dangerous when signs warn of a difficult spot on the road, say a blind bend over a bluff. Or when a direction sign is broken or removed and an accident occurs in a remote country area, thus hindering the accurate reporting of the

accident site and attendance by emergency vehicles. Skylarking is not on when it can cause death, destruction, danger. Just as people often give little thought to the signs, they too often overlook signbreakage and signbreakers. It's not just vandals who are concerning AA. Certainly those who want only to deface or smash signs are lawbreakers and must be stopped. The fact is, each person who plays skylarker or vandal with a road sign, adds to the national bill of $350,000. How Signbreaker Lawbreaker Works The campaign seeks to continually remind people of the importance of the signs network.

To the great majority of responsible road users, it calls on people to watch out for signs vandals. As well as awareness of the contribution they are thus making, the campaign also offers a reward to people who catch the vandals responsible. To anyone who supplies information leading to the "conviction of a signs vandal, the local AA will pay a $200 reward. This is being advertised widely. AA is out to put teeth into its campaign. People who see these senseless and costly acts of vandalism are asked to note and report: •the whereabouts. •the description of the people involved. •the description and registration number of their vehicle. As soon as possible, pass on this information to Police or your nearest AA office. Police and the Courts have been fully updated on the campaign, and realise full well the depth of public feeling against an ever increasing wave of vandalism throughout society — to say nothing of the cost of such anti-social activity. Timing The commencement of the campaign is carefully timed to coincide with the school holidays. This reflects a general upsurge in signbreakage at such times. It also seeks to address the need to instill in the young awareness and respect for the signs systems. Further, the reward provision tends to attract the participation of young people during the holidays. AA requests parents to pass on this suggestion to their children. While the time of year is one cause of a bubble in signbreakage figures, geographical considerations are important too. At this time of year, skifield roads and main roads leading to them tend to attract sign vandals. Other venues of travelling sports people are similarly hit. Responsible motorists (the majority) travelling to these areas are asked to keep an eye open for signbreakers. The Signbreaker Lawbreaker Campaign can only achieve its potential if everyone plays a part.