Keep an eye out for motorcyclists
Motorcyclists are over-represented in fatal and serious injury crashes, but it’s often through no fault of their own, according to police.
‘‘Unfortunately they don’t have the same protection as a person sitting in a vehicle,’’ says Taranaki road policing manager Senior Sergeant Robbie O’Keefe.
He urged drivers to keep an eye out for them.
‘‘They are very vulnerable and if they are involved in a crash they are more likely to suffer a serious injury or die in it.’’
There is no typical victim when it comes to fatal road crashes, he says – ‘‘dying on our roads is not selective, it can affect anyone’’.
Police have launched a road safety campaign with a simple message for motorists – we want you here for Christmas.
The initiative was launched on December 1, and its aim is to prevent harm on New Zealand’s roads this holiday period.
In 2017 more people have been killed on the country’s roads than any year since 2010, and many more have been left with life-long injuries.
The campaign focuses on the four types of behaviour that contribute most to road trauma – driving too fast for the conditions, not wearing seatbelts, drunk and drugged drivers and those distracted and fatigued.
Attending the scene of a fatal crash was a shocking experience, O’Keefe said.
‘‘It’s not like watching a movie, it’s real life, someone has died. There’s some pretty gory scenes and it’s not nice for anyone to see that.’’
After having to deal with the carnage at the roadside, police then faced their toughest task – informing the family.
‘‘To me that’s the hardest part of the job, is turning up on the doorstep, knocking on the door and then telling the next-of-kin what has happened and that someone in their family has passed away and is not coming back. It’s devastating for them.’’
Police would continue to run enforcement operations, including a reduced excess-speed tolerance of 4kmh from tomorrow to January 8.