The secret lifesaver
Waikato’s new road policing manager is trying to save people’s lives, even though they’ll never know he’s done it, writes Kirsty Lawrence.
When Inspector Jeff Penno drives around the Waikato region he’s reminded of the victims from every fatal crash he’s attended.
He remembers their names, he can picture the crash scenes and he knows the trauma the crashes caused. It drives his family mad, but remembering those victims motivates Penno to try and prevent other deaths from occurring on Waikato roads.
Penno is the new Waikato road policing manager, a role he’s been after for 12 years.
‘‘This is my passion. I love road policing, I love how we do it.
‘‘I love how if we get it right, the people we save don’t even know.’’
Having been a police officer for 25 years he’s worked in the Waikato region his entire career, spending his six year apprenticeship in Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia and Huntly doing general duties in the 90s.
At that time a State Highway ran through both communities, so dealing with fatal crashes was common.
Penno joined the Waikato Highway Patrol team when it was created in December, 2000 and in the following six years they managed to halve the Waikato road toll.
‘‘We knew trucks slowed down when they entered the Waikato.’’
Back in the 90s policing speed, booze and belts were the fundamentals of road policing. The new challenges of cellphones and drug driving have risen in recent years.
‘‘There’s a sense of frustration that none of the risks on the road are unknown but we continue to see people with total disregard for the other road users.
‘‘Our staff do things no human should have to do, but we do it with heart and empathy, respect and professionalism,’’ Penno said.
People were quick to blame boy racers for their driving but Penno said a lot of fatal crashes were just ordinary New Zealanders who had made a mistake.
Another challenge for drivers in Waikato was the infrastructure, as Waikato roads were not designed for the volume of traffic they received today.
‘‘50 tonne trucks were never even considered [then].
‘‘We have got a huge area [and] we know that nationally we have some of the highest vehicle kilometres travelled on the worst infrastructure.
‘‘So the infrastructure is absolutely critical and we have seen a lot of work done on the roads of national significance,’’ Penno said.
Looking forward to the year ahead he said a challenge they were going to face was policing drug drivers.
‘‘We are seeing that in our fatal statistics and we are all aware of it.
In the past four years the Waikato region had seen an increase in alcohol as a factor in death and injury on the roads, so this year Penno said people could expect to see a significant increase in breath testing.
‘‘In terms of prevention we need to police in a manner that results in the public believing if they drink and drive, we will catch them.’’
Police would also be cracking down on people not wearing their seatbelts, with Penno issuing a warning to people in Waikato.
‘‘If you speed in the Waikato you will receive a notice, if you don’t wear a restraint you will receive a notice.
‘‘I’m really proud to have done so many years in road policing and I believe in my whole soul I will save lives in my [time] in this role and those people will never know I’ve saved their lives.
‘‘To do that we will be abused and I’m okay with that.’’