Motor Trade Association School road safety presentation with Greg Murphy
Good Morning Greg, staff and students - thanks for inviting me along today.
I know that most of you would rather hear Greg Murphy speak than a politician, so I'll be quick.
I just wanted a few minutes to tell why you why his programme is so important, and what the government is doing to help young people stay safe on the roads.
You probably know that every year, hundreds of New Zealanders are killed and thousands are seriously injured on our roads.
The problem is especially bad amongst young people, who are more likely to be affected by speed, alcohol, drugs and distractions.
Our youth road toll is much worse than in Australia and it's among the worst in the world.
Everyone knows that driving can be fun, and for most people it's an essential part of growing up. But clearly we need to do better.
This is why the government has launched Safer Journeys, a 10 year strategy to cut our road toll.
A big part of the package is aimed at younger drivers. We are raising the driving age to 16 and make the restricted driving test more difficult.
We want young people to graduate through the system with the maturity and skills they need to be competent drivers.
We are improving the road safety education and making it more widely available.
We're also looking at vehicle power restrictions for young drivers, and whether there should be tougher penalties for breaching the restricted license conditions.
Of course, alcohol is still a big problem. Nearly a third of road deaths in New Zealand involve drugs or alcohol in some way.
The government is considering a zero drink drive limit for drivers under 20 and using interlock devices for repeat offenders, to stop a vehicle being driven if the driver is over the limit.
Cabinet will also be considering the adult drink drive limit, and whether we lower this or carry out more detailed research.
Already we've started a major programme of building new roads across the country, and we've passed new laws on cellphone use while driving, drugged driving and cracked down on boy racers.
Driving a car on your own is a privilege. You will be behind the wheels of a machine that can kill others, so we want you to be safe and responsible.
But at the end of day, the government can only do so much. The responsibility for staying safe belongs to all of us.
This is what I think you're going to hear a bit more about.
It's my pleasure to introduce Greg Murphy this morning. Greg is one of New Zealand's top sporting champions, and a four time winner at the legendary Bathurst 1000 race in Australia.
As a V8 Supercar driver, he knows a fair bit about staying safe on the road and making the right decisions under pressure.
It is a real privilege to have him here today speaking to us, giving up his valuable time.
Thanks to the Motor Trade Association for organising this event today, and thank you Greg.