Safer Journeys
It’s been a shocking few weeks on our state highway network. In the seven day period over the Easter weekend we had 21 people killed and two crashes in our region, one near Manakau and another between a car and a motorbike in Kapiti.
Fortunately for those involved there were no serious injuries, but the tragedy is that most of these accidents and deaths are avoidable.
Speed, alcohol and driver fatigue have been a factor in most of these crashes. At the end of the day, personal responsibility is always going to be the most important factor. But there are important things the government is doing to make our roads safer.
Already we’ve passed new laws on cellphone use in the car while driving, drugged driving and illegal street racing.
Last month I was at the launch of Safer Journeys with Transport Minister Steven Joyce, which is a 10 year plan with a range of ideas to cut the road toll.
As part of this, the driving age will be raised from 15 to 16. We have a terrible record of youth safety on the roads, one of the worst in the world. 15 to 24 year olds make up 37% of all fatalities despite being just 15% of the population.
The other issue being considered is lowering the adult drink drive limit, from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to 50mcg. Cabinet will consider this along with the option of doing more research. As local MP I’d be interested in your thoughts on this important issue – you can email me at [email protected].
Better roads will help too. Work on the $2.4 billion SH1 upgrade from Levin to Wellington airport, including Transmission Gully, is already underway. Along with safety improvements it will help with the terrible congestion we have to put up with in our region.
Safety improvements created by a four lane expressway will avoid head-on crashes. Congestion at the Otaki roundabout on long weekends will also be reduced once the bypass is built.
In the meantime I’m talking to NZTA to see how this chokepoint can be mitigated. Research shows that frustrated drivers make too many silly mistakes behind the wheel.
If you want a copy of Safer Journeys you can contact my office or get it online at http://www.transport.govt.nz/saferjourneys/.