June 2006

Top stories this month

Bottle Lake Forest fires cost $550k CCC considers changes to gaming policy Chch airport emphasises its environmental focus Festival to light up port town How about helping on 'the wild side' Hearing from the people Outfall accord Peninsula traffic accidents are a local issue TV2 KidsFest 2006 Plenty of old favourites as well TV2 KidsFest box office opens on Sat, 17 June TV2 KidsFest continues to grow Wild Wanderings taking place throughout the city » Other stories this month

Peninsula traffic accidents are a local issue

This month, the Police and Road Safety Banks Peninsula are campaigning to warn local drivers about the need to take more care on familiar bends.

Between 2000 and 2005, the Banks Peninsula area had 37 fatal and serious crashes. Nearly half involved local people and 70 per cent of these were on bends.

Many of the peninsula and Port Hills roads are winding, curvy, steep and sharp, with blind corners. Familiarity with the roads can lead to complacency, driving too fast and losing control. Many head-on crashes happen because drivers cut corners and don't keep in their lane. Developing good driving skills and habits and staying alert to road conditions helps prevent crashes, injury and death in our community.

Claudia Reid, the Lyttelton/Mt Herbert Community Board Chair, says too many locals treat the peninsula's narrow, winding roads as if they were straight. "They drive through corners as if they can somehow see through them and know that the road ahead is clear," she says. "Too often it's not."

Police Inspector Derek Erasmus says this is a local issue.

"Too often residents blame those from outside their area for the crashes that occur. The truth is, it's locals who travel too fast and are complacent about their roads.

"Police will be on the peninsula to remind locals that they need to be careful. We will do this by prosecuting those who speed or who fail to stay in their lane. My sincere wish is that there's no-one to catch."

HANDLING LOCAL CURVES

• Keep in your lane and be aware of what's on the left so you can take evasion action if necessary.
• Control your speed and cornering -- brake on the straight before you corner.
• If the roads are steep, curvy, wet or slippery, change to a lower gear when approaching corners to reduce your speed and avoid the need for sudden braking.
• When cornering, drive at a speed at which you know you can stop in the distance that you can see ahead. At 100km/h in dry conditions you need 90m to stop; the faster you go, the further ahead you need to look and the longer it takes to stop.