Bay of Plenty traffic expert David Taui defends te reo Māori signs

NZ Herald

23-05-2025

Taui disagreed.
'Not every country uses English stop-go signs, but most people understand that red means stop and green means go,' Taui said.
Taui has worked in traffic management since 1994.
Taui said most people understood what green and red signs meant at roadworks.
He had watched more cars speeding than not when a temporary speed limit was in place, he said.
'I'm going to tell you that 97.9% of all drivers who go through the roadworks site do not do 30km/h.'
He simply wanted to save the lives of tangata whenua and all Kiwis driving.
'They [te reo signs] are more respected by Māori than the Stop sign,' he said.
'Because nobody likes to be stopped. Stop is a command, and human beings do not like to be commanded to do something.'
Taui said he knew the rules and regulations around signage very well and that any signs could be used in risk management, as long as a plan was in place.
'Every sign is not approved until it gets approved, and that is when you write the traffic management plan.'
He said that if more road signs were in te reo or closer to his designs, there would be fewer accidents because people would pay more attention to them.
A spokesperson for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kōtahi said it valued te reo Māori as an official language of New Zealand and would continue to use it.
'Safety on the road is non-negotiable and the use of approved signs is critical to ensuring all road users and traffic crews remain safe around work sites,' the NZTA spokesperson said.
The only official sign under the traffic control devices (TCD) rule is the Kura sign for schools.
'This was introduced in 2022 and remains on our roadsides and is legally required to be used, as specified in the TCD rule.'
The TCD rule was a transport regulation, and the Minister of Transport was responsible for it, the spokesperson said.
'NZTA cannot change it on its initiative.'
NZTA must follow the law as a road controlling authority and only used signs specified in the TCD rule.
Only a small number of traffic signs in the rule conveyed a message just in te reo (eg, Marae, Kōhanga Reo, Tangi), according to the spokesperson.
'Most traffic signs are presented in English,' the spokesperson said.
The new Government policy statement on land transport 2024 has been finalised, and bilingual and te reo Māori traffic signs are not identified as the Government's priority, the spokesperson said.