A misaligned speed limit sign on State Highway 33 near Ōkere Falls has raised questions about enforcement practices.

A road safety engineer identified the faulty sign on State Highway 33, near Ōkere Falls, after passing a mobile speed camera trailer nearby.

Michael Thorne was travelling east along the highway on Saturday when he failed to notice the transition from a 100km/h to a 60km/h zone.

The change occurs between the boat ramp and Whangamarino School.

There, he saw a speed camera trailer parked in the school’s entrance bay.

The section of State Highway 33 where the signage was unclear.

“I was a bit annoyed with myself for daydreaming and missing the sign as, being a road safety engineer, I pay particular attention to road signs.”

On his way home, Thorne looked carefully to see why he missed the sign.

He found a 60km/h speed limit sign had been “knocked around”, leaving the 100km/h sign facing oncoming traffic, while the 60km/h sign faced the bank.

Thorne believed the corresponding sign on the right side of the road could easily be obscured by vans and other high-sided vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.

The 60km/h sign on the right‑hand side of SH33 at Ōkere Falls. Photo / NZTA

With his background in road safety, he said, “to enforce a speed limit, the signs must be in place and no ambiguity”.

He questioned why the signage was not checked before the trailer was deployed.

NZTA said the sign on the left-hand side of the highway was “displaced from its proper position”.

New signs had arrived and would be reinstated next week.

The 60km/h sign on the right-hand side “is visible and legally enforceable”.

Map pinpointing the location of the speed sign at Ōkere Falls on SH33. Photo / Zoe Blake

It said the mobile speed camera trailer operated on April 4, between 12am and just before 10.20am.

The provider confirmed it was parked in line with NZTA procedure and did not obscure signage.

Drivers who believe they were incorrectly issued an infringement can dispute it through NZTA’s website.

Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post.