Transport Minister Steven Joyce is seeking suggestions for improving road safety.
Five road safety features we noticed in Spain might help:
* Rumble bars a few metres before intersections of main and minor roads.
* Painted islands in the middle of main roads at intersections with major side roads. These enabled drivers of vehicles turning left (the same as making a right turn here) to give way to traffic on their side of the road, move to the painted island in the centre of the road and give way to traffic on the rights side of the road from there. That is safer than having to give way to traffic coming from both directions as we do here when we make a right turn from a side road.
* islands with round-abouts at either end, separating main road traffic from entrances to, and parking for, groups of businesses on the side of the road.
* More motorways.
* A requirement to keep to the right hand lane (left hand lane here) unless passing.
The discussion document is here.