Drivers urged to reconsider habits during national Road Safety Week

Sunday, 15 May 2016

Parent helper Ingrid O'Hagan helps Redwoodtown School pupils safely negotiate the crossing on Weld Street.

Complacency on the road can endanger lives, Marlborough police warn, as Brake's national road safety week kicks off.

Car crashes are one of the leading causes of death for children and young people, and most pedestrians killed or injured are aged between 5 and 24.

Highway patrol team leader sergeant Barrie Greenall, of Blenheim, said the biggest risk on the roads was when drivers did not realise their driving was a danger to themselves and others.

'Assessing risk is probably the hardest thing, because there are so many risks out there to be considered.'

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Drivers often flouted road rules they thought were trivial, but the rules were there for a purpose, like stopping beyond the road markings at an intersection, Greenall said.

'They might be there for the overtaking vehicles, or the pedestrian crossing further down the road, that you can't see because it's hidden. A lot of thought and consideration goes into the lines on the road. They are there to keep [drivers] and other road users safe.'

Another common mistake was following other vehicles too closely.

'We become blase. We sit in this metal cage going 100kmh because the design of the road has made us feel safe. But you can't defy physics,' Greenall said.

Drivers could use the two-second rule, best employed by waiting until the car in front passes a street light or sign and saying 'Only a fool breaks the two-second rule' before they pass the same street light.

Greenall also said drivers should think twice before driving while tired after a long day at work or if they did not get enough sleep.

While drivers were urged to consider their habits, pupils at Blenheim schools would be learning about how to be safe on the road.

Redwoodtown School pupils would put the safety practices learnt into action during the Great Walk on Friday, and children were having fun putting together safety-themed banners to take with them, teachers said.