Road safety campaign right on the money

Taupo District Council’s month-long road safety campaign aimed at reducing the number of crashes at intersections has drawn to a close. Despite billboards and radio advertising designed to raise awareness of the dangers motorists face at intersections, there were still two crashes during the campaign.

Both incidents occurred at the intersection of Taupo View Road and Gillies Ave. Constable Red Foden attended the crashes and said both were a result of drivers failing to give way to oncoming traffic who had right of way. While one crash was minor, the other resulted in serious injury.

Council has recently measured traffic volumes and speeds on Gillies Ave. While the average speed was below 50 km/hr, 15 percent of drivers were travelling at speeds greater than 57kph with a top speed of 120kph recorded. Council’s Road Safety Coordinator Christine Hutchison urges motorists to slow down and take extra care around intersections.

“The risks many driver take at intersections, like nipping into small gaps between oncoming traffic, should not be an option. Drivers should also be cautious approaching intersections where they have the right of way in case of other motorists failing to give way,” she says.

Other Taupo intersections which have been identified as high-risk crash spots are:
· Heu Heu St and Titiraupenga St
· Tamamutu St and Titiraupenga St
· Tamamutu St and Kaimanawa St
· Poihipi Road and State Highway One.

The road safety quiz run in conjunction with the campaign will be drawn and announced in the next week.

www.taupo.govt.nz