New Zealand road safety is at risk if a plan to cut policing staff is approved, transport industry bodies say..

In a proposal sent to staff and transport industry representatives on March 17, police outlined plans to cut jobs in their road-policing unit with no strategy to replace their function.

The proposal, which axes 26 Vehicle Safety Officers (VSOs) from the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit (CVIU) as part of a reallocation of 111 road-policing staff, is open for submissions until April 7.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill said the proposal is "concerning".

Police Association president Chris Cahill said staff were "very upset" by the proposal. The association planned to fight the proposed job cuts.

READ MORE:

* Truck driver seriously injured in Lewis Pass bridge crash

* Crash exposes SH7s vulnerability

* Police say truckies not great drivers, either

DAVID ALEXANDER/FAIRFAX NZ Road Transport Association general manager Dennis Robertson said the proposal could spark a "slip in road safety standards".

"We are pretty concerned about it to be honest," Cahill said.

"Most New Zealanders would agree that we don't want school buses, tourist buses and logging trucks carrying on the roads that are unsafe.

"We have a lot of very good, professional truck operators in NZ, but in any industry you're going to have your cowboys and that's what this opens up, for the cowboys to go unpoliced."

SUPPLIED Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley.

VSOs are qualified mechanics with extensive commercial vehicle experience and knowledge who are sworn police officers, but have limited authority.

As well as carrying out roadside audits, VSOs also attend all crashes involving commercial vehicles where the vehicle's roadworthiness is in question.

The rest of the CVIU is made up of constabulary staff with additional commercial-vehicle training and dangerous goods inspectors.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/FAIRFAX NZ Road policing national manager Superintendent Steve Greally.

Cahill said an extra $35 million was needed, on top of the $960m road-policing budget allocated by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), to secure the VSO jobs, .

"If the savings do have to be made, they shouldn't be from this group who actually lose their job when there are other places where staff could come from and they could get assimilated into other policing roles," Cahill said.

The Road Transport Association (RTA) and the Road Transport Forum (RTF) said the proposal would be "a backwards move for road safety" and planned to make a joint submission to police.

RTA general manager Dennis Robertson said VSOs' work was critical.

"The first thing you're going to get from a truck driver is how much they dislike the CVIU, but take them away and they'll say, 'Hang on a minute, they do actually need to be there'.

"You do need somebody on the road to regulate what's happening because unfortunately not everybody in this industry abides by the rules."

RTF chief executive Ken Shirley said the proposal came about from police being forced to "better utilise their policing resources".

If the job cuts went ahead, Shirley anticipated VSO services would be transferred to NZTA, or contracted out to Vehicle Testing New Zealand.

NZTA safety director Harry Wilson said road policing was funded through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), which was reviewed every three years.

The $960m budgeted for the 2015-2018 Road Policing Programme (RPP) was up 6.7 per cent from the last allocation.

Police and NZTA considered a range of options, agreeing on one that would "fit within the funding envelope" and would "deliver the most effective contribution to a reduction in deaths and serious injuries", Wilson said.

Police national road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally​ confirmed the 26 VSOs would be "disestablished". The changes were first indicated in May.

"Road-policing positions are being reallocated into other areas of police to focus on a broader range of activities, though reallocated staff will still be involved in policing the roads where appropriate."

Greally said there was no set timeframe for a final decision and the future of the VSO's function would be established once consultation was complete.

The proposal says road-policing staff in four districts – Auckland, Wellington, Counties and Waitemata – would also be reallocated into other duties.