It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!
It can be any time when you are telling a story.
Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.
If we want to.
Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!
What is all that sound?
It is a man in a shiny black Ford Ranger!
And he is waving his finger at the bus!
Why is he waving his finger at the bus when he already has a ride in his ute?
And why is he forgetting to take his hand off the horn for so long?
Maybe we will find out when it is morning story time at Kia Kaha Primary School.
It is morning story time at Kia Kaha Primary School!
Ms. Barry says,
Who has a story?
Zac says,
Miss, I have one about Dad having a go at a bus driver.
Ms. Barry says,
Would this have something to do with all that noise earlier, Zac?
Zac smirks,
Yes, Miss.
Dad got stuck behind the bus on the new pedestrian crossing.
There is a new pedestrian crossing outside Kia Kaha Primary School.
It is very good.
Now you can cross the road when you are ready,
instead of having to wait forever
while all the utes and cars go past like they are on the motorway.
Why was he having a go, Zac?,
asks Ms Barry
Zak says,
He said the driver was driving like an old woman
and he was holding up everyone who was just trying to get on with their day FFS.
And he said,
It's twice as bad now with the new pedestrian crossing
because the idiots who made it obviously don't know shit about road engineering.
Abi says,
Mumâs really dark about the new crossing too.
She says it's hard enough doing the commute already and this is the last freaking thing she needed.
Jordan says,
My Grandad says it's an accident waiting to happen
because if there's a car waiting to turn onto the road after it's gone over the crossing,
you can't see the loopy pedestrians.
Ms. Barry says,
I wonder if it might just be that people aren't all that good at changing old habits?
Tane says,
Could we do a study of it?
You know,
like that time we counted the people using the cycle lane,
and it was heaps and no-one believed us?
Madison says
Maybe weâll get our picture in the Kia Kaha Flagstaff again.
Room 13 is standing by the new pedestrian crossing!
They are waiting for the log jam!
But it has not come yet.
They are waiting to see someone nearly get killed!
But no one has got nearly killed either.
It can be a bit dull waiting for a roading disaster to happen.
The only fun bit is when a driver rolls their eyes,
or when they do a FFS
because they have had to stop suddenly for a bloody pedestrian who came out of nowhere.
Ms Barry has put an app in her phone that can tell you how fast the cars are going.
Ms Barry says,
Saskia, would you like to do the measuring?
Saskia is very good with phone apps.
Ms Barry doesnât even have to tell her how it works.
Saskia is measuring the cars and utes!
It is strange how many cars are going at 50 and 60 and 70 when all the signs say:
You must go at 30 it is the law.
It is Maths time in Room 13!
Room 13 is using the data they got at the new pedestrian crossing.
They are matching up the speeds the cars were doing
with the drivers who were rolling their eyes and going FFS.
Ms. Barry says,
Can anyone see a pattern here?
Patrick says,
Teslas have better acceleration than Rangers.
Ms. Barry says,
Good work Patrick,
but I was thinking of something else.
Madison says:
The faster people are going,
the more ticked off they look at the pedestrian crossing.
Ms. Barry says,
Very good Madison,
And what might that tell us?
Madison says:
It only gets dangerous if you go faster than youâre supposed to?
Zac says,
Thatâs not what Dad was saying this morning.
Amelia says,
Dadâs been driving everywhere at 30 km/h and I quite like it.
Ms. Barry says,
Didn't he used to collect speeding tickets, Amelia?
Yes, says Amelia,
But that was before he heard about the 15-Minute City and Agenda 2030
Now he says he's keeping under the radar
so they can't work out where he's going.
Tane says,
Yes, but...
Amelia says,
Bro, I know
Zac says,
Anyway Dad says he's been driving for thirty years
and he doesn't need some softcock with a clipboard
telling him how fast he can go.
Ms. Barry says,
Can anyone tell Zacâs Dad what he's missing here?
Who can remember what the lady from Kia Kaha Transport told us?
Caleb says:
Even a little bit slower can make a big difference to how bad you get hurt.
Like, the higher the speed limit,
the more people die.
Kiara says:
Slowing down gives drivers more time to react to unexpected situations.
Like a pedestrian crossing the road.
Or a dog on the motorway.
It is quiet for a minute.
Everyone is suddenly remembering Ms Barryâs dog Manilow.
Ms Barry gives them a smile that says thank you.
Then she says:
What else?
Jordan says
At slower speeds you get less stop-and-go congestion.
Amelia says:
Better fuel efficiency
Tane says:
Lower emissions
Zac says,
Yeah, but it takes forever to get there.
Ms. Barry says,
Actually, it only amounts to a few minutes over an hour.
Does a few minutes seem like a lot to give up to make everyone safer?
Zac says,
Dad says the experts have just dreamed that up.
They don't know what it's actually like out on the tarseal.
Ms. Barry says,
Maybe, but letâs say your appendix has just burst.
Who would you like to operate on you?
Someone who went to medical school?
Or someone who has watched all 20 seasons of Grey's Anatomy?
Madison says,
My Gran got really worked up last night by them talking on the news about putting speeds back up.
She said she remembers what it was like in the 1970s
when everyone got drunk and drove without seat belts
and went flying off the road or into oncoming cars,
and they were getting maimed and killed like nobody's business.
She says she would much rather have it the way things are now.
She says people are too good at taking things for granted,
like getting protection from COVID.
They forget the part that saves lives
and just complain about the inconvenient bits.
Is your Gran still a Novid, Madison?
asks Ms Barry.
Madison nods.
Ms Barry says,
She really knows how to take good care, doesnât she?
