Northland District Headquarters
88 Cameron Street, Whangarei
Wednesday December 17, 2014

Wet weather in Northland is making the roads hazardous and police are asking motorists to take care.

There are a number of potholes on State Highway One near Oakleigh and Topuni that are getting larger, so motorists need to slow down to avoid hitting them.

Since 7am today there have been two crashes. The first one occurred on Puketona Road heading towards Haruru Falls. A car left the road and rolled several times before coming to rest down a bank. There were no injuries.
In the second crash a car has lost control on Fairburn Road in Kaitaia and hit a fence.

Police launched its ‘Reach the Beach safely this summer’ campaign earlier this month and while it may not seem weather for the beach, it will be soon and people need to watch their speed.

Northland Road Policing Manager Inspector Murray Hodson says the wet weather makes the roads more treacherous, so it’s more imperative that motorists drive to the conditions.
“The speed limit is not the target and if you exceed the speed limit you can expect to be stopped.”

The greater the speed the greater the chances you will be seriously injured or killed.

“Northland Police will be highly visible on the roads targeting those who exceed the speed limit and enforcing the lower alcohol limits. So far this year we’ve had 15 deaths on Northland’s roads. At the same time last year there were 20 deaths. I don’t want to see any more people die on the road because they’ve driven too fast.”

Drivers are also encouraged to have a break of 20 minutes or more after two hours of continuous driving as fatigue can be an issue. In Northland six of the 14 fatal crashes have had fatigue as a possible cause.

Mr Hodson says the campaign is about people looking after each other on the roads through people choosing to stay under the speed limit and friends stepping in before someone decides to drive after drinking.

“As drivers we cannot afford to ignore our responsibilities to others we share the road with. Police are inviting all New Zealanders to join the initiative by using the social media hashtag #ReachTheBeach.”

Mr Hodson says police want to see Northlanders and visitors enjoy all that the region has to offer at this time of year and police are here to make sure that happens safely.
People can use *555 to report any bad driving

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