Stop Killing Our Own.

Franklin was devastated by two fatal crashes last week. Now, with over a month left in the year, Franklin is facing one of our worse ever years for road safety. Too many Franklin people are being killed on Franklin roads.

Franklin District Council reports that so far this year 12 people have been killed in fatal road crashes in our District. This is above the yearly average of 10 people – and the year isn’t over.

It’s not just drunk-drivers who are dying. It’s not just young drivers. People from all parts of our community are being affected. They’re Franklin people being killed on Franklin roads.

But the fatality list only tells half of the story – there are many many more seriously injured or suffering lifetime disabilities as a consequence of a road crash within Franklin. And many families hurting as a consequence of losing someone they love.

“Franklin communities are tight-knit – each death is a blow to the District and almost every one could have been avoided. We all have to change how we are driving right now if we want to stop this,” says Franklin District Council’s Road Safety Coordinator, Andy Baker.

Jon Cheeseman, Strategic Traffic Unit Sergeant for the Pukekohe Police agrees. He says: “It should be very easy to reduce road crashes - it is often just a matter of changing the way people think when they are behind the wheel. Firstly by choosing not to drink and drive. Also by choosing not to drive faster than the conditions allow, and finally and just as important as the others - by choosing to stay alert and paying attention to what is happening around them. Far too many crashes happen as a result in a momentary lack of focus, caused by tiredness and distractions such as cellphones. If we all make the right choices the road will be a much safer place.”