WARWICK RASMUSSEN
OPINION:
Any tweaks to the rules surrounding the way we drive are always going to create polarising responses.
In the past week we heard that police were possibly looking at dropping the speeding tolerance instead of just doing so on selected holiday weekends.
While that was quickly closed down by police as an option any time soon, it did get enough traction to trigger debate on whether dropping the tolerance level from 10kmh to about 5kmh would make any difference to our road toll or whether it would simply mean more paperwork for police and more revenue for the state.
The 10kmh tolerance does serve several purposes.
Firstly, it allows for any speed discrepancies between the “speeder” and the officer and device that record the speed. Secondly, it gives the benefit of the doubt to drivers and gives them little room to argue if they are caught and fined.
Every year unnecessary speeding is a dominant factor in our road toll, but it is only one of them. Impairment by alcohol and drugs are high on the list, as is driver fatigue and inattention. Police and transport authorities need to work on all of those areas relentlessly to make a difference.
The other area of change is not proposed, it’s going to happen. That’s the change to the “give way” rule at intersections, so we fall into line with several other countries.
The debate on whether it is right or wrong is over. There’s no point saying there will be a glut of crashes when the law is changed late next month, because it’s something all drivers, from New Zealand and overseas, will have to adjust to.
If people are that concerned about getting it wrong, they can stay off the roads for a while. And, as it stands, there are plenty of people driving around who either don’t know the existing rule or are just too ignorant to take notice of it.
NZ Transport Agency will soon be bombarding us with advertising and “awareness” campaigns about the change.
Anyone who gets behind the wheel owes it to themselves, and every other person who uses a vehicle on our roads, to make the effort to learn the changes.
In the big scheme of things they are minor, but they could make a major difference.
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