Reminder for motorists this long weekend

Note on speed threshold: Over the holiday period – 4pm on Friday 19 October to 6am on Tuesday 23 October 2018 – if you're detected by a safe speed camera exceeding the posted speed limit by more than 4 km/h, you are highly likely to be ticketed.

Police and the NZ Transport Agency are reminding people to start their journey well rested and stay safe on the roads if they are going away for the long weekend.

“Share the road like it’s your family driving around you,” says Superintendent Steve Greally, National Manager Road Policing. “This is where Police’s focus remains as well. We know the four main behaviours that contribute to death and serious injury on our roads are people driving distracted, drivers impaired by fatigue, drugs, or alcohol, drivers speeding, and people not wearing their seatbelt.

Statistics: During Labour weekend in 2017 there were five fatal crashes and 76 reported injury crashes. These crashes resulted in six deaths, 23 serious injuries and 103 minor injuries.

In 2017, fatigue was a contributing factor in 32 fatal crashes and 100 serious injury crashes. Driver fatigue is difficult to identify or recognise as contributing to a crash. This means it’s likely that fatigue is under-recorded, and contributes to more crashes than we realise.