Patrolling New Zealand's roads
The Ministry of Transport was formerly responsible for enforcement of traffic laws before their division of traffic officers was merged into the same organization as the police in 1992, and prior to that the majority of traffic duties were administered by local councils.
New Zealand Police formed a special Highway Patrol unit at the end of 2000.
The Highway Patrol's aim is to help reduce road trauma and make our roads safer by providing a highly visible, dedicated police presence.
The Highway Patrol cars carry the distinctive blue and yellow police colours. They are distinguished from other police vehicles which feature orange and yellow colours.
Highway Patrol staff are based almost exclusively on state highways, which contribute 39 percent of the social cost of crashes.
Higher visibility on the roads gives the public a sense of confidence that police are not only out there, but are taking an active interest in their safety. A visible presence also acts as a deterrent to those who wish to flout the road laws.
Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit
The Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit is a nationally managed unit responsible for monitoring all areas of the commercial vehicle industry, including trucks, buses, taxis, couriers, mobile cranes, and mobile homes.
The primary activities of the CVIU are:
Certified pilot scheme
Driving hours and logbooks
Investigation of serious commercial vehicle crashes
Road user charges
Road and bridge weight limits
Vehicle fitness
Transport licensing
Vehicle and load dimensions
Passenger safety
Load security
Dangerous goods
The Unit has 88 Enforcement Officers and 4 Vehicle Safety Officers based around the country. The CVIU operates both mobile and weigh bridge stations. These are sited in:
Auckland (3)
Rotorua
Turangi
Ohakea
Plimmerton
Glasnevin (north of Amberley).
Unit officers annually inspect around 140,000 commercial vehicles. They weigh around 45 percent of these vehicles. Approximately 25,000 offences are reported annually.
CVIU maintains a very close working relationship with industry organizations, and a wide range of government agencies including Land Transport Safety Authority and Transit New Zealand.
SEE ALSO MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT SECTION