Thursday, 28 March 2013

Fatigue stop a good start to long weekend

Holiday-makers heading away for Easter were met with a friendly reminder of the need to drive fresh during a fatigue stop in Woodville on Thursday March 28.

Coordinated by Horizons Regional Council with support from New Zealand Police, Dannevirke High School Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD) and ACC, the stop provided an opportunity to talk directly to drivers and equip them with resources to promote a safer journey.

Horizons road safety coordinator Debbie Webster says she and her team provided bottled water and information packs to over 600 drivers between about 4.45 and 6.30pm.

Police put the total number stopped at around 640 with more drivers waved through as traffic built up.

“99 per cent of drivers were really happy to receive the packs and really receptive to the whole exercise,” Ms Webster said.

Police also took the opportunity to breath test stopped drivers, with alcohol detected on the breath of 13 drivers but none over the blood alcohol limit.

12 infringement notices were issued by Police with most relating to expired warrant of fitnesses and vehicle registrations.

Overall Ms Webster described the fatigue stop as a success and hopes safety messages will stick with drivers long after the official holiday period ends on Tuesday 2 April.

“We’re really pleased with how it all went and are thankful for the support of Police and our road safety partners. Working in partnership with our communities we can reduce the risk, for safer roads in Tararua and throughout New Zealand.”

Tips for drivers embarking on long journeys:

Get plenty of sleep before leaving on a trip;
Avoid setting out on a long journey after working a full day;
Try not to drive when you would normally be asleep (early morning and late at night);
Take regular breaks, and if feeling sleepy then a short ‘power nap’ of no more than 20 minutes is encouraged;
Share the driving where possible;
Eat well balanced meals and take non-alcoholic drinks regularly during the trip;
If you are taking any medication, check whether it causes drowsiness; and
Use the air conditioning (outside air flow) to keep you more alert.

Ends

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