Police are asking motorists to be cautious this weekend as many holidaymakers are set to be going home in time for the return of work.
The official holiday road toll increased by one, to 20, after a woman who was critically injured in a crash south of Hastings on December 30, died in hospital on 4 January.
Over the past year, 343 people died on the roads.
Superintendent Steve Greally says many people will be travelling home this weekend to resume work on Monday.
Motorists should expect congestion, and avoid distractions like mobile phones, says Steve.
"Make sure everybody's got their seat belt on of course, making sure you're not impaired by alcohol, drugs or fatigue, making sure you're not distracted by cell phones or anything else - and of course the most important thing is speed - making sure you're driving at or below the speed limit."
Far too many people died on the roads in New Zealand and driving at or below the speed limit could save lives, he says.
"We've got to consider we're still in the bottom 25 per cent of the OECD in terms of road safety, so we've got a long way to go."
2 comments
Soooo
Posted on 06-01-2024 22:36 | By Yadick
So what does NZTA do, they shut passing lanes down. How absolutely ludicrous.
Lower the speed limit, shut the passing lanes down, leave roadwork cones and reduced speed limits unnecessarily out, pisse the drivers off. Yeap, that should work.
The bottom 25%?
Posted on 07-01-2024 13:23 | By morepork
Knowing that is the case, instead of repetitious admonitions for people to drive better (which obviously are not working), why aren't we seriously addressing raising the driving standards by education, and facilitating the chance for people to do advanced driving courses? Maybe we need to review the difficulty (or easiness) of the actual driving test before we let people on the road. Increase penalties for dangerous activities (like using cell phones, when it costs less than $30 to install hands free if you really can't live without being on the phone...), and require people convicted of dangerous driving to pass an advanced driving course before getting their licence back. I don't think we are beyond redemption; I see many examples of courtesy and good sense while driving here, but there is always that idiot minority who have never accepted that their car is a lethal weapon, and drive selfishly.
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