LETTERS Wet roads and speed a recipe for disaster
And so it continues. After a horror year on Northland’s roads in 2022 (38 died, the highest annual road toll it’s had in 22 years), it seems many people have continued to ignore the road safety rules.
We’ve now had five deaths on Northland’s so far in 2023. Five! That’s families not seeing their loved ones and friends and will lead to so much anguish for so many people as the ripples of the tragedies extend out.
One of the problems, as I see it, is that many motorists in Northland just don’t slow down when it rains.
It’s basic physics — your cars lose traction on the roads when they are wet so it’s best to slow down in order to have the ability to stop quickly if needed. Continuing at the same speeds when the roads are wet is a recipe for a crash as you will not be able to stop as quickly as when the road is dry.
So please, please, when it’s wet drive at 10-20km/h slower than you would normally do (depending on how heavy the rain is and how wet the road is) and that will ensure that you are more likely to stop in time in an emergency.
Ian Johnson Northland Climate shift Generally, “Major weather shift on the horizon” ( Advocate, January 18) is an excellent and candid account of La Nina and El Nino events affecting our weather patterns. Although the two maps showing “difference from normal summer rainfall from 1973 to 2022”, is not a valid comparison. 1973 was during a cool period when the climate scare was that we might be returning to an ice age.
Since La Nina is a global cooling event (except in the southwest Pacific where it brings warmer conditions as we have just experienced), the anticipated El Nino will certainly result in higher average global temperatures, as usual.
But, as to the potential for the “symbolic warming threshold of 1.5C to be crossed sooner than predicted”, El Nino phases are also temporary events (commonly one to three years) and average global temperatures can be expected to fall again.
It is something we have seen after past strong El Nino events (e.g. 1998 and 2015-2016).
The La Nina and El Nino events need to be viewed as temporary cool and warm phases superimposed on a modest warming trend (about 1C so far),
GUIDELINES
The Northern Advocate welcomes letters from readers. Please note the following:
■ Letters should not exceed 200 words.
■ They should be opinion based on facts or current events.
■ If possible, please email.
■ No noms de plume.
■ Letters will be published with names and suburb/city.
■ Include full name, address and contact details for our records only.
■ Local letter writers given preference.
■ Rejected letters are not normally acknowledged.
■ Letters may be edited, abridged, or rejected at the Editor’s discretion.
■ The Editor’s decision on publication is final.
Email editor@northernadvocate.co.nz or write to the Editor,
Northern Advocate, 88 Robert St, Whangarei 0110 commencing at the end of a colder period about 1850.
Tony Climie Parua Bay