July 8 1999

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hon Maurice Williamson

Minister of Transport

About 2000 vehicles have been impounded by Police since the new driver licensing regime took effect on May 3, Transport Minister Maurice Williamson announced today.

"Preliminary figures show that 1034 vehicles were taken off the road in June, adding to the figure of just under 1000 during May.

"I welcome these figures as the whole aim of the new driver licensing system was to create a safer environment for law abiding drivers and get these serious traffic offenders off the roads," said Mr Williamson.

In 1997, disqualified and unlicensed drivers caused 10 percent of deaths on our roads and nine percent of serious injury crashes.

"This shows that we must do all we can to get these offenders off the roads and impounding their cars is the most productive way of achieving this.

"Police have indicated that they anticipated a higher number of offences warranting impoundment based on previous years. So the new laws are working either by removing the opportunity for these drivers to get behind a wheel, deterring them, or a combination of these.

"We've sent a clear message to serious repeat traffic offenders that their dangerous and anti-social driving is not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated."

Mr Williamson said that after a few teething problems and a need to modify a few aspects of the new driver licensing regime, the system was now working well and achieving positive results.

ENDS

The 28 day vehicle impoundment applies to those drivers who drive:

* while disqualified

* while their licence is suspended under demerit points

* while their licence is suspended by police for 28 days

* while their licence is revoked (eg, on medical grounds)

* without a licence after being forbidden to drive until they get a licence

* while unlicensed and after being forbidden until licence renewed

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>