Careful driving urged for long weekend

Canterbury motorists are being urged to drive carefully this holiday weekend, with long trips, cold conditions and alcohol adding to the risks on the roads.

Senior Sergeant Phil Newton, of Canterbury Highway Patrol, says drivers need to make sure they are driving to the conditions this weekend.

"Queen's Birthday Weekend is the only long holiday weekend during winter," he says. "Motorists need make sure they're driving to the conditions and increasing following distances, particularly if they strike wet weather and poor visibility.

"With families making long trips to holiday destinations there's also the risk of fatigue - so we're encouraging drivers to make sure they stop regularly to take a rest.

"Holiday weekends often mean heavy volumes of traffic on the roads. Motorists should allow extra time for their journeys, and be patient and courteous with other road users."

Events such as the Otago Motorcycle Club Brass Monkey Rally in Central Otago are expected to generate significant additional traffic on the roads.

Senior Sergeant Newton says slow drivers can also cause frustration and lead to risky behaviour from other motorists. While it is not an offence to drive slowly, drivers who impede the flow of traffic or do not pull over to let others pass will be ticketed.

It's not just holiday drivers that need to take care this weekend. Crash risks also increase in towns and cities during the long weekend - with alcohol being a contributing factor.

Over the five Queen's Birthday Weekend holiday periods from 2008 to 2012, there were three fatal crashes, 56 serious or minor injury crashes and 115 non-injury crashes on Canterbury roads.

All three of the fatal crashes occurred on urban roads, between 6pm and 2.30am and all were alcohol related.

The Queen's Birthday weekend period officially starts at 4pm today [Friday 31 May] and ends at 6am on Tuesday 4 June.

As with other holiday weekends there will be a reduced of the speed tolerance of 4mkm/h for all permanent posted speed limits.

The lowered tolerance was introduced at Queen's Birthday 2010 after a disastrous Easter when 12 people died on the roads. Since its introduction, it has helped reduce the number of crashes, deaths and injuries on our roads.

Senior Sergeant Newton says Police will be visible and active throughout the weekend both on highways and around urban centres, conducting alcohol checkpoints, visiting licensed premises and keeping a close eye on driver behaviour.

"We want to make sure that every journey is a safe one for all motorists," he says. "We will be working with our road safety partners, NZTA, MoT, ACC and AA to make sure holidaymakers and other road users this weekend are as safe as they can possibly be."

ENDS