Crossing the centerline causes severe carnage say Police

Police will be lowering their customary tolerance to 4km  over Labour Weekend but will also be targeting drivers who fail to keep left and cross the centerline as part of their Labour Weekend ”lifesaver campaign” .

“These crashes are particularly nasty and often occur at high speeds,” said Superintendent Paula Rose today.

“When one vehicle crosses into the path of another, it is usually a result of excess speed, fatigue, alcohol, inattention or any combination of those factors.”

“What you can end up with is someone who is driving along, minding their own business, being unexpectedly struck by a vehicle which has crossed into their path and is coming at them out of the blue. Innocent and blameless people are often killed. The speeds are often high and the carnage is severe.”

Police campaigns in Tasman and Central Police Districts which both have heavy traffic volumes and windy roads have revealed large numbers of drivers failing to keep to the left, especially on corners, many of them blind corners.

“Drivers need to be really conscious of these hazards, especially on the busy roads during holiday weekends when oncoming traffic is always there - four inches of paint is no protection at all,” said Superintendent Rose today.

“While we can never plan for or prevent every error drivers will make, what we want to do is mitigate the damage. If we can provoke drivers into thinking more carefully about keeping well to the left and keeping their speeds down, we can prevent a small error having catastrophic results.”

“We are hoping for a weekend with no road deaths at all,” said Superintendent Rose.

Police will be out in force over Labour Weekend with as many vehicles and frontline staff as possible out on the roads.  Police will take action against any driver apprehended 4km over the speed limit. The official begins at 4pm Friday 22nd October and ends 6am Tuesday 26th October.