When it comes to speeding New Zealand Road Policing officers have heard it all, literally.
From stuck jandals to stressed out dogs, lead foot motorists have tried just about every excuse in the book to get out of a speeding fine.
Summer’s here which means more people travelling on the roads, and as part of our continued effort to save lives on our roads we once again remind drivers there is no excuse to speed.
Bay of Plenty Road Policing Manager, Inspector Logan Marsh, wants people to realise there is a consequence to their action.
“We’ve already had 29 people die on Bay of Plenty roads this year.
“Our people see the impact of that on families and communities.
“We don’t want any more.
“In a crash, even when you’re not at fault, speed remains the single biggest factor in whether you and your passengers walk away or are carried away.
“Every opportunity you take to reduce your speed, even by a fraction, has the potential to make a huge difference to safety on our roads for everybody,” he says.
“It’s simple: less speed means less harm.”
Police will continue to be out on our roads focusing on prevention and enforcement, but we need all road users to share the responsibility of safety whenever and wherever you are travelling.
“We want you to get to your destination, so slow down, drive to the speed limit and drive to the conditions.
“And know that you can expect to see Police out on the roads – anytime and anywhere.”
NZ Police wants everyone to have a happy and safe holiday - NO EXCUSES.
6 comments
Revenue collection time
Posted on 08-12-2023 08:40 | By Tga Citizen
The cops will not attend shoplifting events, burglaries, car conversions, etc, but exceed the speed limit by 4kms and they will be all over you. Slow vehicles with a huge line of traffic behind them, speeding up on a passing lane and then slowing down to remain leader, inconsiderate drivers, etc, have no worries because a ticket to them does not bring enough revenue and means the cops need to get out of the car. Much easier to sit on their backsides and pull a trigger on the speed camera. I would like to know how the police think they have a 70% approval rating, many people I know, who used to support the police, no longer do.
Tailgating
Posted on 08-12-2023 10:20 | By Jukay
The previous comment didn't include one of the more serious contributing factors of car crashes. which is following far too close, particularly at speed.
The easiest rule to follow?
The distance at 10km/hr = 1 car length, 20km/hr= 2 car length, 60km/hr= 6 car length, 80km/hr= 8 car length etc.
@Tga Citizen
Posted on 08-12-2023 12:13 | By morepork
Many people share your frustration over what we perceive as revenue gathering instead of crime prevention. But it probably isn't entirely fair to do this. Cops were merged with the previous Traffic Police as a cost saving exercise but I don't know of any studies showing whether that was a good idea or not. I support cops because I recognize they put themselves on the line when they have to, and they do a job that most of us would not enjoy. Don't withdraw your support because of anger over a traffic fine; try to see a bigger picture. I saw a bumper sticker in the USA which I have never forgotten:"If you don't like cops, next time you're in trouble, yell for a Hippie..." BTW, I've been around a bit, and I can tell you we are lucky to have the standard of policing that we enjoy here.
@ Morepork
Posted on 08-12-2023 17:41 | By Tga Citizen
I remember the grey police cars, and the black and white revenue collectors also. I used to hang around with the police, and prison guards, but we never with hung around a revenue collector (wannabe cop). Now, if you want help from a cop, call a delivery guy, they will get there faster. We used to have a good quality of police, and they were respected, but the modern police have a lower entry standard, based on inclusion quota rather than skill level, and the hierachy have not supported them either. I also understand the frustration front line cops feel, watching offenders being released before the paperwork is finalised, but dont take the easy option of getting quota.
@Tga Citizen
Posted on 09-12-2023 14:04 | By morepork
Thanks for the response; I especially liked the "call a delivery guy..." Lol! I'm not sure I agree that entry standards for Police have been lowered; I hope that's not true. In all seriousness, I have lived in countries where the Police were just empowered thugs, rife with corruption and of no use to anyone except themselves. Speed is something we can argue about; but the services see the results and they won't argue about it. It is inarguable that the damage done is inversely proportional to the speed, but if limits are set too low, people will just break them. Overall, and on balance, we have a good Police force and I believe they deserve our support. YMMV.
An afterthought.
Posted on 11-12-2023 12:54 | By morepork
On re-reading the article and the comments, I would note in passing: In Germany, it is ILLEGAL to drive in Jandals. Blaming your Jandals for a traffic offence is a pretty lame excuse...
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.