Drive to survive this festive season

Central District Police want to send a strong message to motorists this festive season about taking their road safety responsibilities seriously.

To date 44 people have lost their lives in crashes on Central District roads.

"These are not just statistics they are someone's mother, father, child, brother, or sister. Police want everyone to get home safely this festive season. Please exercise caution and take extra care when travelling," said Central District Road Policing Manager Inspector Dave White.

"The majority of motorists are fully compliant with the road rules and exercise sensible driving; however at this time of year extra care needs to be applied when travelling."

Central Police will also have an extra presence to monitor traffic this festive season with an 'eye in the sky'.

"We will be using a fixed wing aircraft over some of the busier travel days to monitor traffic flow and identify speeding vehicles. This is an effective tool as it helps us identify areas where traffic flow is obstructed so we can channel some of our resources to those key areas."

The official Christmas/New Year holiday road period begins at 4pm on Tuesday, 24 December 2012, and ends at 6am on Thursday, 3 January 2013.

There will be a high Police presence during this period and Police will prosecute every driver caught under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

"We will be focussing on drink driving but anyone we identify doing anything that places other drivers at risk can expect to be caught," said Inspector White.

Police will also be enforcing a lowered speed tolerance over an extended holiday period. Action will be taken against any driver detected driving any more than 4km over the permanent posted speed limit from 4pm Friday, 21 December 2012 until 6am Monday, 7 January 2013.
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