Media advisory - 2011 road toll

The road toll for 2011 is set to be the lowest in more than 50 years. The majority of New Zealand drivers have taken the messages around the hazards of speed, drink driving and safety belts to heart.

Road Policing national manager -Superintendent Paula Rose says Police have noticed a real difference in behaviour on the roads. She says average speeds are down and the traffic across the whole network is noticeably calmer.

"Police appreciate that the majority of drivers do stick to the speed limit, and drive to the conditions. The majority wear safety belts, never drink-drive and are courteous, considerate and safe but between now and the end of the year there will be more people partying, traveling and celebrating the lead up to Christmas.

We will be making sure that we provide heightened visibility, relentless breath testing of all drivers stopped (whatever time of the day) and consistent action. We will also be stopping any driver we detect driving more than 4km over the speed limit during the official holiday period.

We know that just being out there and engaging with our communities provides a powerful deterrent to those who may not be taking their safety and that of other road users seriously," she said.

Holiday driving requires extra care and patience and the majority of drivers are well aware of this. They take the precautions required to ensure that they arrive alive. They give themselves time to make their journey safer, they take regular breaks and ensure that everyone in the vehicle is belted in safely.

"We don't know all the factors behind what is driving the reduction in the road toll but we do know that Police visibility and action plays an important part, our actions are saving people's lives.

The official road toll shows that 269 have lost their lives this year so far. While this compares very favorably to previous years (99 people less than last year), this still means that 269 families will be missing a family member this Christmas. I am sure we can all appreciate just what this means to all those families.