Police today announced a commitment to enforce speed limits and new alcohol limits throughout summer and beyond in an effort to keep our roads safe. However police also made it clear that the survival of our loved ones depends on all New Zealanders doing their bit: drivers can choose to stay under the speed limit; mates can step in before someone decides to drive after drinking.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush says: “We expect families will again travel large distances on unfamiliar roads to reach summer hotspots that New Zealand is famous for. The aim for all of us, including NZ Police, emergency services and our road safety partners, is to ensure we can all reach the beach safely this summer. To do this we need the help of everyone: drivers, passengers, cyclists and motorcyclists alike.”
The operation was launched at one of New Zealand’s favourite summer hotspots, Piha Beach. Children from Oratia School joined forces with police officers, NZ Fire Service, and St John staff to write road safety messages in the sand to drivers. The messages in the sand are full of hope – hope that Kiwis would share their wisdom with friends and families so everyone could #ReachtheBeach safely this summer.
Commissioner Bush says the event launches a national operation involving over 8,000 police officers who will be highly visible on the roads, targeting drivers who exceed the speed limit and enforcing the lower alcohol limits.
The road safety campaign is backed strongly by road safety partners ACC, NZ Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport.
Police are inviting all New Zealanders to get involved with the initiative throughout summer using the social media hashtag #ReachtheBeach. We encourage people to write their own road safety messages in the sand, take photos and share them with their friends and families.
Anything over the limit is speeding
Police’s message is clear: anything over the limit is speeding. All speeding will be stopped.
Commissioner Mike Bush says: "Regardless of the cause of a crash, a vehicle's speed at the time of impact can be the difference between a close call or an agonising stay in hospital. Our message to drivers is simple: the numbers in the red circles on the side of the road are the maximum speed you can travel safely in good driving conditions.”
“Police officers have the discretion to stop and ticket people driving at any speed over the limit every day of the year. And so we should, because New Zealand has seen that when people travel at safe speeds, our roads are safer and calmer for all.”
ACC Manager of Motorist Injury Insurance Paul Gimblett says “ACC is supporting Police with an advertising campaign calling on Kiwis not to speed. This is a sound investment, because we know slowing down takes a significant amount of the energy out of crashes forces. The faster you go, the worse your injuries will be. In 2012-13, ACC received around 85 road injury claims a day over summer, that’s 85 families impacted, a total of 7500 people hurt on our roads and a huge cost to New Zealanders. That’s why we’re urging all Kiwis to stick to a safe speed and drive to the conditions.”
NZ Transport Agency Road Safety Director Ernst Zöllner says “We know that most Kiwis support Police working to keep our families and our communities safe by targeting drivers who put others at risk by driving too fast for the conditions. We want people to be travelling at safe and appropriate speeds all the time on all of our roads, because the ultimate goal is to reduce tragic and avoidable deaths and injuries.”
Lower alcohol limits
Police and most New Zealanders welcome lower drink drive limits for drivers 20 years and over, which will apply from 1 December. The blood alcohol limit remains at zero for under 20s.
Research shows that 60% of NZ drivers favour the new lowered legal blood-alcohol limit. This level of support is unsurprising given the enormous impact of impaired driving on local communities.
Secretary for Transport, Martin Matthews says “We’ve seen road fatalities drop by the hundreds over the last few decades, in part because Kiwis have become intolerant of drink-driving. We know it’s simply not sensible to drive after you’ve had a few. For every 100 alcohol or drug-impaired drivers or riders killed in road crashes, 54 of their passengers and 27 sober road users die with them. These are not just statistics – these are someone’s mum, dad, sister or brother. This change will make our roads safer, save lives and prevent serious injuries.”
An increased police presence on the roads means everyone should expect to be stopped and breath-tested anywhere, any time. However, Police can't do it alone. Families, friends and whānau need to step up and play their part. Stop a mate driving drunk - legend.
Even small amounts of alcohol can affect your driving, so if you drink at all, don't drive. Call a taxi, take a bus or get someone who hasn't been drinking to drive you home.
What can drivers expect this summer?
Police will be focused on protecting all road users from those who choose to put others at risk by exceeding the safe limits.
NZ Police would prefer not to issue any speeding tickets because that would mean people were travelling at safe speeds and the risk to people’s lives would be greatly reduced. But if you’re over the speed limit, at all, expect to be stopped.
ENDS
Media Contact: Ross Henderson, ross.henderson@police.govt.nz or 021 192 2919.
