Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss is urging all motorists to consider the road toll and its impact before getting behind the wheel this long weekend. “The road toll is so much more than a number, it represents the lives of parents, wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters and friends,” Mr Foss says. The 2016 road toll stands at 33. We’ve needlessly lost almost as many people as we’ve had days in the year — that’s unacceptable to me and, I’m sure, every other New Zealander. If we’re going to save lives and stop the road toll creeping higher and higher, every motorist must drive to the conditions — that includes being cautious and courteous in heavy holiday traffic — and keep their speed down.
“Road safety is not a mystery, we all know what we need to do to keep ourselves and others safe, it’s a matter of putting that knowledge into practice behind the wheel.” Preliminary Ministry of Transport figures for 2015 indicate 37 per cent of fatalities involve speed, 29 per cent involve alcohol or drugs, 13 per cent involve driver inattention or distraction and 11 per cent involve driver fatigue. “I wish all Kiwis a safe and enjoyable Waitangi weekend,” Mr Foss says.
