Traffic Police toughen up

NICKED: Constable Neil Warren and other members of Te Awamutu’s Strategic Traffic Unit will have more powers of speeders and drink drivers from Monday. 012061AD

By Dean Taylor

If the picture to the right looks like something you see in your rear vision mirror from Monday you could be in more trouble than you thought.

Amendments to the Land Transport Act come into force on Monday aimed at addressing serious speeders and drink drivers. The new laws give police the power to impose higher instant fines, suspend licences and impound vehicles.

Te Awamutu Strategic Traffic Unit Sergeant David Hall says speed and alcohol are the major contributors to road trauma in this country.

He says while the public of Te Awamutu generally seems to have got the message about drinking and driving, speeding is an issue.

The notorious speed trap areas are the urban/rural roads, especially long straight stretches such as Whitmore Street in Kihikihi and Te Awamutu’s Te Rahu and Cambridge Roads.

Compounding the issues are the schools in these areas. Police make no excuse for being vigilant about speed and safety where children are concerned.

Sergeant Hall says extra speed means more distance is covered during the driver’s reaction time and braking distances are increased, recipes for disaster in built up areas. He says drivers cannot be complacent about their speed just because they know their roads.

Statistically in New Zealand three lives are saved annually for every 1km/h we reduce our average speed.

The new laws are designed to ram home the seriousness of these offences and, in the worst cases, take bad drivers off the road. Under the new rules any driver found to have a breath alcohol level in excess of 650 micrograms per litre, or a blood alcohol concentration of 130 milligrams per 80 millilitres, or who refuses an officers request for a blood test, will immediately have their drivers licence suspended for 28 days.

A driver with two or more convictions, the most recent within four years, will also have the vehicle immediately impounded for 28 days. Any driver who is found to exceed the posted speed limit by more than 40 km/h will have their drivers licence suspended for 28 days and could also face instant fines up to $630 or a court appearance.

The new speed limit does not apply to temporary speed limits such as those at road works or to vehicles towing trailers. In these situations if the speed limit is exceeded by 50 km/h the drivers licence will be suspended.