Drivers clueless on importance of stops

Drivers clueless on importance of stops

Taranaki motorists are still not getting the message about driving when tired.

A 15-strong road safety contingent stopped 644 cars in Kakaramea on Sunday for South Taranaki's first fatigue stop.

Roadsafe co-ordinator Marion Webby said they picked the last day of the school holidays because that's when drivers often take risks.

"About 31 per cent of the drivers thought it was OK to drive for more than three hours without a break. It's not OK.

"One driver thought about 10 hours without a stop was OK.

"It's quite horrendous for us to know there are a lot of people out there who aren't taking rest stops when they should."

She said driver exhaustion was the key factor in up to 25 per cent of all crashes.

"When you are tired and fatigued you make poor choices and mistakes that can prove deadly."

Miss Webby said the majority of the public were receptive to being stopped.

"There was the odd older gentleman who thought it was a waste of time but overall, people thought we were doing a good job."

She said given the road fatality statistics throughout the country the fatigue stop came as a timely reminder.

"We had 350 cars heading south to the major centres and 294 travelled north into Taranaki."

She said police were there purely to control traffic.

"The police caught a few people breaking the rules in the terms of registration and licensing but on the whole it was a very successful stop."

Drivers were provided with an ACC driver fatigue information pack, a voucher for coffee, a water bottle and a local map highlighting road hazards.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/3599333/Drivers-clueless-on-importance-of-stops
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