Road safety campaign underway on State Highway Five
A road safety campaign is in full swing to help raise awareness around the risks of driving while fatigued.
The campaign is a collaboration between Taupo District Council, Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Waka Kotahi and New Zealand Police and focuses on State Highway Five.
This stretch of road is a ‘hot-spot’ for driver fatigue with 29 crashes occurring due to driver fatigue between 2015 and 2019.
This new collaboration has targeted State Highway Five as a significant risk for driver fatigue related crashes. It includes fatigue stops where drivers are given refreshments and can discuss the importance of breaking up their journey.
Road safety coordinator Sarah Wraight is pleased with the partnership and hopes this campaign raises awareness around the dangers of driving while tired.
“With fatigue being recognised as a key factor in our districts, it has been great to form a collaborative response to try and combat this,” she said.
“Anything we can do to keep people safe when travelling on our roads has got to be a good thing.”
Look out for more fatigue stops around the area in the coming months or head here to find out more about how driving tired affects you and how to recognise some warning signs.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!