28
new red and orange Holden Commodore VF highway patrol vehicles will be
rolled out across the country over the next year, joining the existing
police fleet as part of moves by the government and police to put the
brakes on speeding, drunk and dangerous drivers this summer.
As
part of a multi-agency summer road safety campaign launched today, two
new firsts have been announced – a two month reduced speed threshold of
4km/h, and the national trial of 28 highly visible coloured police
patrol vehicles to be rolled out across the country over the next year.
Assistant commissioner road policing, Dave Cliff explains the basic reason for the move.
“While
most Kiwis are looking forward to getting away on their summer
holidays, far too many will never make it home, and still more will face
a lifetime of debilitating injury from avoidable crashes,” Cliff says.
“Summer is a risky season on our roads and it’s even more dangerous when
people drive too fast, drink too much or take other unnecessary risks.
“That’s
why a raft of road safety agencies, includingpPolice, ACC, the Ministry
of Transport, and the NZ Transport Agency – along with the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Authority – are supporting this campaign to
reduce the human, social and economic cost of speeding and other risky
behaviour on our roads this summer,” he says.
From December 1,
2013 to January 31, 2014, police will be strictly enforcing a reduced
speed threshold of 4km/h, and will have “no tolerance” for those
flouting the law. This will be accompanied by a continued focus on drink
driving, restraints and other unsafe behaviour.
“As we have
already seen during the two most recent long weekends this year, when
there was a total of just one death on our roads, stricter enforcement
around speed, along with a range of other safety tactics, can make a
real difference in saving lives, preventing injuries, and leaving fewer
grieving families behind,” Cliff says.
“Our research shows that
when police combined high visibility tactics with a reduced speed
threshold during Queen’s Birthday weekends in 2010 and 2011, the total
number of fatality/injury crashes reduced by 25%, compared with the
previous two years,” he says.
“That’s an average of 30 people
whose lives were saved,” Cliff says. “If, as country, we can save that
many people over a few days, the question for all of us sharing the
roads these holidays is how many could we save over two months?”
Cliff
says while every death is a tragedy, the number of people seriously
injured in crashes is often forgotten. “Reducing the life long
disabilities and trauma suffered by crash casualties remains a key
objective for all agencies. The impact on victims and their families, as
well as our health system are enormous.”
As part of maintaining
its highly visible presence, police will also be trialling red and
orange highway patrol vehicles, to be rolled out over the next year as
older vehicles become due for replacement.
“Their purpose is to
provide a strong visual reminder of the police presence on our roads and
to provoke public debate, as agencies work together to improve road
safety,” Cliff says.
