Enjoy the holiday driving — take care

WITH Christmas now less than 10 days away, this is it for Drivesouth in 2017. Coincidentally, we are signing off this year with a road test of the Hyundai Santa Fe. Not quite Santa’s sleigh, but close, in name at least.

Drivesouth returns midJanuary with our traditional picks of 2018.

In signing off for the year, I’d like to encourage motoringminded folk to devote some time during their break to seek out a new driving experience or two: even if its taking a different route to your holiday destination — Dunedin to Central Otago via the Pigroot (State Highway 85) or Middlemarch (SH 87); Dunedin to Invercargill via the Catlins or taking the inland scenic route through Canterbury rather than slogging up SH 1 — and make the most of the South Island’s great motoring roads.

At the same time, I’d also urge drivers in this part of the world to display a mix of vigilance, courtesy and patience behind the wheel over the holiday period. Taken together, these three qualities can go a long way to reducing our stress levels at a time when our roads and holiday towns will be crowded. They are also the keys to ensuring that our festive season is as safe as possible in a motoring sense.

Looking to the New Year, there are various motoring events in our part of the world that might take your fancy. In particular the two southern rounds of our national summer motor racing series, held over the weekends of January 1213 at Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, and January 1920 at Teretonga Raceway, Invercargill.

In the meantime, I’d like to sign off for 2018 by wishing readers all the best for an enjoyable Christmas and

New Year.

David Thomson

Editor Drivesouth