Anniversary weekend starts with road safety reminder

Holiday-makers heading away for the Wellington Anniversary weekend were met with a friendly reminder of the need to drive fresh during a fatigue stop in Woodville on Friday 20 January. 

The SH2 fatigue stop was a joint effort between Horizons Regional Council, Central Districts Road Policing team and local Woodville Police.
 
Horizons road safety coordinator Debbie Webster says the event created an opportunity to talk directly to drivers, and equip them with resources to promote a safer journey.
 
“We gave out 360 information packs and also bottled water to a number of drivers between 4pm and 6pm.
 
“The majority of drivers were happy to receive the packs and receptive to the whole exercise.”
 
Police breath tested 650 drivers with four testing positive for alcohol.  Upon further testing, all were under the drink drive limit of 250mgs per litre of breath.
 
Ten infringement notices were also issued for vehicle offences and one stolen car was recovered.
 
 Ms Webster says overall the fatigue stop was a success and hopes the safety messages will stick with drivers long after the official holiday period. 
 
“We’re really pleased with how it all went and are thankful for the support from Police to get these important messages out to the public.  Working in partnership with our communities we can reduce the risk, and create safer roads in the Tararua District and throughout New Zealand.”
 
Ms Webster recommends the following tips for drivers embarking on long journeys:

• Get plenty of sleep before leaving to travel
• Avoid setting out on a long journey after having worked a full day
• Try not to drive when you would normally be asleep
• Take regular breaks, and if feeling sleepy then a short ‘power nap’ of no more than 20 minutes is encouraged
• Share the driving where possible
• If you are taking any medication, check whether it causes drowsiness
• Use the air conditioning (outside air flow) to keep you more alert.