"Police Commissioner acknowledges feedback on road safety campaign"

The Commissioner of Police, Mike Bush, today said he had listened to the public feedback in relation to the summer road safety campaign and that Police would learn from the experience.

"Retaining public trust and confidence in the NZ Police is critical and underpins the principle of policing. Future road policing campaigns will have clear messaging and public support for our important work to ensure the safety of New Zealanders on our roads.

"I acknowledge there was some confusion resulting from the Police speed messaging during the Safer Summer road policing campaign and this became an issue that many New Zealanders were passionate about.

"The purpose of the campaign was to save lives on our roads; however some members of the public have told us that our messaging was not clear enough around what speed levels would be enforced. I acknowledge we should have been clearer.

"We should have been explicit that speed cameras were set for usual holiday tolerance of more than 4 km over the limit and that roadside officers would continue to use their discretion in stopping people driving over the speed limit, but would focus on unsafe driving behaviours.

"Our staff have been using their discretion appropriately over the summer campaign. Only 14 tickets have been issued for speeds of between 1 and 4 km over a speed limit (processed as of 13 January).

"By way of comparison, 13 tickets were issued in this band during the December 2013 - January 2014 campaign.

"Local and international experience demonstrates that when we all slow down, deaths and serious injuries decrease, and the roads are safer and calmer for all.

"There will now be a review of the messaging in the Safer Summer campaign, and the lessons learnt will be incorporated into future campaigns," Mike Bush said.

ENDS

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