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- By Sergeant Brett Meale of Howick Police
New Zealanders may be back at work, but the summer focus on safe driving continues for
police.
The 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year holiday road toll was 14, which was significantly
lower than the previous three years, but still 14 families who have had to experience grief and suffering during that time.
With 28 deaths on the road already in 2025 (as of January 28), police staff continue to concentrate on the most common factors in serious injury and fatal crashes – speed, fatigue, alcohol, distraction, and lack of restraints.
For a police officer, one of the worst parts of our job is knocking on a family’s door and
telling them their loved one has died in a crash.
Drivers need to keep safety at the front of their mind every time they get behind the wheel.
The reality is, many crashes could be avoided if the drivers made smart decisions which
allow them, their passengers, and other road users to reach their destination safely.
Is it worth risking your life or your passenger’s, to check a text message or to get to your
destination 10 minutes earlier by speeding?
It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure passengers are properly restrained and to always
drive to the conditions.
With children returning to school in the coming weeks, police will be focusing on the driving
behaviours of motorists around schools in the area.
Each year, some parents continue to park on yellow lines, over driveways and on footpaths.
Their actions place the safety of all children at risk as it impairs the visibility for other
motorists who may not see other vehicles or pedestrians.
It also creates further congestion and frustration around schools at peak times, before and
after school.
Remember, the speed limit near most schools is 50km/h, but does drop to 40km/h when signs indicate it is a school zone.
Police will be enforcing both these limits and the parking restrictions throughout the year.
