Are Kiwi drivers fit to be on the road?

BY DIANE JOYCE

East Coast residents are dying in drink-drive crashes at up to seven times the rate of the rest of New Zealand.

The deathrate – which Gisborne's mayor puts down to a "marijuana goes well with Steinlager" mentality – has prompted a plea to the Government to provide the manpower for a crackdown.

The Dominion Post can reveal the figures just a fortnight after the Government announced proposals to reduce the number of crashes involving alcohol, including a ban on drinking for drivers under 20, and the possibility of a lower alcohol limit for adult drivers.

One in 2310 people died on the Gisborne region's roads in the past five years – seven times the rate of Wellington. One in 289 people on the East Coast have been involved in a drink-drive related crash.

But those who deal with the carnage on Gisborne roads say no law changes will make a difference unless they are strictly policed.

Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon blames the region's drug and alcohol "culture" for the district's top spot in the statistics.

Gisborne's high proportion of young people with their "take a chance" attitude also added to the figures. "The message just seems to go in one ear and out the other. They're just not listening."

He said Gisborne needed "more stringent enforcement" – something that the Government had to help with.

Police Minister Judith Collins referred questions to Transport Minister Steven Joyce, who is overseas. National road policing manager Superintendent Paula Rose said catching drunk drivers was a last resort – stopping people from drink-driving in the first place was more important.

Just as males, who made up 80 per cent of fatal crash drivers, were over-represented in crash statistics, rural areas such as Gisborne were also over-represented. "Drink driving is a community issue and needs a community response."

In 2005, local MP and Labour's Maori Affairs spokesman Parekura Horomia commented after five young people and a toddler were wiped out in a drunken crash in Ruatoria.

Kui Reedy, 23, her son Hamuera Braybrook-Reedy, 2, her cousins Tania Maraki-Reedy, 16, and Hamuera Reedy-Harrison, 22, and friends Toni Grace, 17, and Heni Tuhuru-Walsh, 16, all died. An inquest confirmed Kui Reedy was drunk and stoned. No-one was wearing a safety belt.

"It's time for whanau to own up to the circumstances surrounding these tragedies," Mr Horomia said.

He repeated that message yesterday, again putting the onus on the community, saying people with mana had to drive the anti-drink-drive message home to youth.

Almost 50 per cent of Gisborne residents identify themselves as being Maori. A Maori Party spokeswoman said the statistics were "very concerning".

The party was already reviewing access to liquor outlets, especially in low-decile areas, but would also look at over-represented drink-drive areas.

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES ON THE ROAD

Safety cameras on trucks are capturing the near-death experiences of some of Canterbury's worst drivers.

The video cameras, mounted on Canterbury Waste Services trucks, have recorded cars running red lights and stop signs, running other cars off the road from dangerous overtaking, pulling out in front of oncoming traffic and driving three-abreast on two-lane roundabouts.

In one video, a yellow car is seen spinning out of control on Blenheim Rd and careering across the median strip into the path of the 44-tonne rubbish truck.

The car driver manages to accelerate back on to his side of the road, narrowly averting an accident.

The drivecam video cameras were mounted on the dashboards of the company's fleet of 12 truck-and-trailer units two years ago.

They record and overwrite continuously, but if a "g-force" of more than 0.3g is registered – equivalent to braking or swerving sharply – the 10 seconds either side of such incidents are stored.

CWS general manager Garth James said drivers could also activate the recording manually, which was how most footage was taken.

The most common incidents were dangerous overtaking by drivers "frustrated" at being behind the truck. "There's one where a car overtakes our truck and drives nine oncoming vehicles off the road."

Drivecams were brought in for driver training and to monitor driver behaviour. However, in the time they had been operating, there had no recorded incidents caused by the company's truck drivers.

The trucks were returning to the depot with one or two recordings of dangerous driving a week, he said.

CWS transport manager Harry Rutledge said the lack of serious accidents in the face of such bad driving was due to his staff being good defensive drivers.

Footage of the more serious incidents was turned over to police.

Canterbury road policing manager Senior Sergeant Trevor Pullen said dangerous and careless driving was one of the top-five causes of fatal crashes.

"Some people shouldn't be behind the wheel. They are in charge of a piece of machinery that can potentially kill people."

- with The Press

- © Fairfax NZ News