Parents are being urged to have serious conversations with their children about road risks following the deaths of three youngsters travelling unrestrained in overloaded vehicles.
In Central District so far this year 11 people have died in road crashes. Three of those killed have been under 21 and in vehicles design to carry less people.
In Foxton in February, a 14-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman were killed when the Ford Telstar they were in lost control and rolled. Then in April a 16-year-old girl died when the Toyota Rav 4 she was in crashed near Hunterville.
"If ever anybody needed proof that not wearing a seatbelt is deadly they need look no further than these devastating cases," says Road Policing Manager Inspector Neil Wynne. "Both vehicles were designed to carry five people but there were seven in the Ford and six in the Toyota, three passengers too many and three young lives now tragically cut short. While overloading may not have caused the crashes the outcomes could have been very different if the passengers were properly restrained.
"The ripple effect of these crashes is huge. Not only are there three heartbroken families, there are friends in the crashes who are now grieving and coping with their own trauma and injuries."
Then of course there is the prospect of a criminal record. Manslaughter charges have been laid in relation to the Foxton crash and a second driver has been charged with being party to manslaughter. The investigation into the cause of the Hunterville crash is still ongoing.
"So many lives are changed in the blink of an eye. We can't wrap our children up in cotton wool, but too often young people think of themselves as invincible and we need to have some serious conversations with them to make them see the reality. They need to understand that five minutes of fun or a bad choice can change their lives forever."
Media enquiries should be referred to Communications Manager Kim Perks on 027 234 8256.