A new road safety advertising campaign is directly challenging speeding drivers to slow down and stop defending their perceived ‘right' to speed.
The joint NZ Transport Agency/police campaign addresses the significant proportion of the driving population who still like to travel at speeds which are too fast for the conditions, on the open road and around town, posing a risk to themselves and to others who share the roads with them.
'Every week, 11 people are seriously injured or killed in a speed-related crash on New Zealand roads, but a substantial portion of our society does not see the connection between speed and crashes,” says NZ Transport Agency Director of Safety and Environment Harry Wilson.
'That needs to change, because the facts and the physics are indisputable.
Speed is always a crucial factor in determining the severity of the crash and the severity of the injuries to the people involved.
The simple and inescapable truth is that less speed means less harm in a crash.” Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Sandra Venables says the consequences of people driving too fast for the conditions can be devastating. 'Police officers see the human cost of speed nearly every day on our roads.
Crashes occur due to a wide range of mistakes, whether involuntary or deliberate, but the outcome is vastly different at different speeds. 'Even when speed doesn't cause the crash, it is the single biggest determinant in whether anyone is killed, injured, or walks away unharmed.
A small change in speed makes a big difference to injury severity.
'Our plea to all drivers this year is to be courteous and slow down, to make sure you get to your destination safely.”
12 comments
So much carnage ...
Posted on 08-01-2018 15:22 | By Seriously?
and yet the speed limit on some roads has just been increased. Not seeing the logic of using police resources to try to slow drivers down, yet increasing speed limits enables them to go faster.
speed
Posted on 08-01-2018 16:36 | By dumbkof2
wont make one iota of difference to some people. they think traffic laws dont apply to them
Police sending out mixed messages
Posted on 08-01-2018 18:16 | By Angel74
increasing the speed n some roads but saying motorists need to slow done etc etc think its a case of motorists have to start concentrating while driving, drive to the conditions and realise there are other people out and about weather it be on or off the road............
You can't reason with idiots
Posted on 08-01-2018 21:20 | By maildrop
This is the problem and you see them on here after every crash. They think THEY are good drivers. What they fail to understand is that every one of the drivers that caused a crash through speeding thought the same. They blame everything apart from speed. Idiots. Tickets are not enough. We need harsher penalties.
Sorry,
Posted on 08-01-2018 23:44 | By The Caveman
But did the Police READ their own stats??? Speeding and drink driving are NOT now the biggest problems on NZ roads............................
Lower limits.
Posted on 09-01-2018 09:07 | By Bruja
I believe we need to lower the limits from 50 to 30 and 100 to 70 There is simply NO SANE OR VALID REASON why we need to travel at speeds highter than this. Give motorists a 10kph tolerance, one month, one written warning, grace period, to get used to the reduced limits. Alongside this we need improved roads and HEFTY fines for using mobile phones, eating etc while driving.
Don't be sorry The Caveman....
Posted on 09-01-2018 10:07 | By groutby
....speed (presumably 'excess' speed) has for a long time now been an easy reason to give for so many road incidents, and (as I understand it) is only realistically a relatively minor direct cause of often unnecessary incidents. I realise excess speed is undoubtedly a factor, I get that, but how often do we hear (and not just from the Police) 'reduce the risk reduce the speed'..or..'reduce harm by reducing speed'..?...'ambulance at the bottom of the cliff' comments as I see it, if we motorists were better drivers, caring drivers, aware drivers and not fixated by everything around us whilst driving apart from driving itself..!..these 'incidents' possibly would not happen in the first place. No easy answer but the longer we are simply told to 'slow down' and remain crap drivers the bigger the problem gets....
@caveman
Posted on 09-01-2018 10:28 | By maildrop
you mean drugs? It may or may not be since the testing regime in NZ is a joke. There are undoubtedly many drugged drivers causing mayhem, and many will get away with it, and their crap driving put down to other factors like speed. But those two often go hand in hand. Regardless of that, there is an indisputable link between excess speed (over the speed limit) and serious crashes. That doesn't mean every time someone speeds they cause a crash, of course not. And some people seem to think that this "proves" speeding isn't necessarily dangerous, so off they go. It's crazy logic. The faster you go, the bigger risk, and the risk increases disproportionately. Speed limits and other laws are designed to manage that risk to OTHERS because it's not all about self. Idiots who do not understand this should be denied access to the road.
Really, is it rocket science
Posted on 09-01-2018 14:20 | By Kaimai
So I called *555 waiting, waiting waiting waiting...., I give the number plate Echo Bravo Echo .... could you please repeat that ... Echo Bravo Echo.... there's a dumb fu...er just sped past me on SH29 going down the Kaimais towards Tauranga .... where ... there's someone going really fast down the Kaimais.... whats your name Sir, and telephone number (perhaps someone might like to contribute to a fund so the NZ Police can get Caller ID!).... for goodness sake, how is that relevant...Mr Police Officer, we can help you if you answer the 'phone, and don't ask dumb questions.
@groutby
Posted on 09-01-2018 15:32 | By maildrop
It's ok saying we should be caring/aware/better attentive drivers but how do you achieve and enforce those? It through laws. And one is speed limits. They may be a blunt instrument but how else would you deal with drivers who are not the above? In another story you say speed isn't the issue yet propose TEL should have a speed limit of 120! So you recognise that speed = increased risk and there has to be a limit, but like so many, you think it is up to you to decide what it should be on any given road. Do you apply this logic to other laws you DON'T agree with? Do you expect other people to uphold laws you DO agree with and conform to how you think they should behave? Do you expect the Police/courts to apply the law if you're a victim?
@groutby
Posted on 09-01-2018 16:13 | By maildrop
Your argument that speed isn't the issue, it's just bad driving, reminds me of gun nuts in the USA that say it isn't guns that kill but bad people. On the face of it it's true, a gun doesn't kill someone. Of course every crash is due to bad judgement or inattentiveness but saying speed doesn't kill is like saying a gun doesn't kill. It's a non secateur.
Maildrop
Posted on 20-01-2018 13:15 | By Kenworthlogger
In this case it isnt the roads or cars that kill its the person driving that does. Lets not beat around the bush.
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