Southern Police are urging motorists to take extra care on the roads while travelling this Easter break.
Police are focused on keeping southern roads safe for everyone as they head away to enjoy their Easter weekend with whānau and friends this year, Southern District Commander Superintendent Paul Basham says.
Our frontline staff will be highly visible on the roads and people should expect to see us out and about, continuously changing deployment locations, and covering all parts of our roading network.
We know there are four main behaviours which contribute to death and injury on our roads; people driving too fast for the conditions, driving while impaired (by alcohol, drugs, or fatigue), driving while distracted – including using a cell phone – and not being properly restrained.
“We’ve been ramping up our work to make sure all road-users are safe over what will be a busy time on our roads,” Superintendent Basham says.
“Safer roads are everybody’s responsibility, and we’re urging motorists to make good choices, because we will be out in numbers.”
Our officers will take the action they deem most appropriate for the situation, applying the intervention they believe is most likely to lead to road safety, whether it’s education, compliance, or enforcement.
Our dedicated deployment plan is already holding unsafe motorists to account in all corners of Southern District.
Over the weekend 9th – 10th April 300 vehicles were stopped at two checkpoints in Southland, with three drivers over the breath alcohol limit.
One motorist was also stopped after travelling on the wrong side of the road in east Invercargill, and blew 1025mcg in their breath test – over four times the legal limit.
An Invercargill driver has also been charged for Sustained Loss of Traction and Drink Driving, after doing a burnout that went wrong and saw his vehicle just metres away from being lost down a creek.
On Friday night in Ranfurly a motorist was clocked driving at well over the speed limit. Their license has been suspended for 28 days and they have been summoned to appear in Alexandra District Court on 21 April.
Three checkpoints in Central Otago saw 130 vehicles stopped, with three motorists blowing over the limit in their breath tests.
“People can expect to see us out and about anywhere, anytime, as we get closer to Easter.
“We’ll all be working together in a concerted effort to keep our roads safe and do our best to make this holiday period a time of togetherness, not tragedy.”
