March 10, 2005

Police target speed on North Shore City roads

Speeding drivers are the biggest problem on North Shore City roads - and police have warned they will be targeting those driving 11km/h or more over the speed limit.

A police report prepared for North Shore City's infrastructure and environment committee meeting this week shows there were no fatal crashes in the city in the second half of 2004, and one fatal crash in the first six months of last year.

"It is encouraging to see police are out there on the roads, stopping more than 47,000 vehicles from last July to the end of January, including breath-testing more than 7,000 of those," North Shore City's infrastructure and environment committee chairperson, Tony Barker, says.

In the same period, police breath-tested more than 33,000 drivers, resulting in 40 prosecutions for drink driving.

"While 40 out of 33,000 doesn't seem like many, it is disappointing that people are still willing to get behind the wheel while drunk," Councillor Barker says.

The report also showed there were 1142 crashes in North Shore City between July 1 and December 1, last year. Forty-five of these resulted in serious injuries, while 348 left people with minor injuries.

The report came as Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ) statistics show a slight fall in the number of fatal and serious injury crashes in North Shore City between 2002 and 2003.

According to LTNZ, the main road safety issue for North Shore City is crashes on bends or with roadside hazards such as power poles or trees.

Other significant issues include vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, poor observation, and speed.

"We'll be working closely with Land Transport NZ on issues such as roadside hazards to make our roads as safe as possible for North Shore City residents," Tony Barker says.

ENDS

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