Franklin Fatalities a Concern for Road Safety Liaison Group

Franklin’s Road Safety Liaison Group had some grim reading at their latest meeting as they reviewed the Serious Crash Report for 03 June to 08 July. This time period included over a hundred traffic crashes, 13 serious and three which resulted in death.

“There were more fatal crashes in the last five weeks then the whole rest of 2008 so far. Each death is a tragedy for the family and for Franklin,” says Franklin District Council’s Road Safety Coordinator, Monique Haines.

Speed, driver error and alcohol remain the main reasons that people have serious crashes in Franklin.

“We have had a great response to the current ‘Speed Kills’ campaign. By accepting speed limits you are committing to saving lives,” says Monique.

The Serious Crash report for 03 June – 08 July indicated the following:

There were 109 traffic crashes in the period
13 were serious, resulting in either significant damage and/or medical attention being required.
3 resulted in death
11 of the 13 serious crashes were caused by speed, driver error and alcohol
Seven of the 13 drivers who had a serious crash were local residents.
Half of these local drivers were within 1-2km of their home
12 of the 13 crashes were in the rural areas