This topic has been well-aired of late, and what seems apparent is the lack of safety for the window-washers themselves, ducking in and out of traffic and working to beat the lights.

Some aggressive washers have caused the travelling public to lay vociferous complaints which have hot-potatoed through the NZTA, and resulted in landing the responsibility for dealing with the issue squarely in the laps of Whangarei District Councillors. Councillors have been obliged to look into the problem with chief among concerns the physical safety of the window-washers.

The NZTA Code of Practice for Temporary Traffic Management state that all work on roads requires appropriately trained and qualified personnel, from telecommunications workers, to roading contractors, right through to roadside landscapers. This Code of Practice also applies to roadside window-washers since they too work on the road.

Two qualifications cover most roadside workers and these are TC (Traffic Controllers) and STMS (Site Traffic Management Supervisors). Traffic control is only part of the consideration, with knowledge and experience of how to deal with traffic safely being paramount.

Unqualified workers, including intersection window-washers are breaking the law and can be fined up to $100,000 by Worksafe. Council is currently looking into the logistics of policing window-washers on intersections and will consider options for managing their activities.

So here’s a question: If these roadside window-washers working on State Highway intersections, were qualified, and worked within the qualification standard, would you be happy for them to operate at these major intersections?

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