Credit where credit’s due

Land Transport NZ should stop claiming all the credit for reducing the road toll, and acknowledge the other heroes.

Hyundai says the motor industry can be thanked for its big safety gains over the past decade, while others such as Transit NZ play a role.

“Look at the huge advances in vehicle safety in the past ten years or so, from basic design of the vehicles to a whole raft of safety features,” said the Executive Director of Hyundai Motors NZ, Philip Eustace.

“Think of ABS and other advanced braking systems, sophisticated suspension setups, stability control, multiple airbags and so much more.“

“Just a few weeks ago Hyundai announced that ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) will be incorporated into every vehicle we bring into New Zealand from now, including our new cargo and passenger van, the H-1.”

“This one move alone must be seen as a significant safety contributor, with ESP thanked for reducing by 77 percent the chances of a vehicle rolling over in a sharp turn, and in an accident reducing the chances of a fatality by 43 percent.”

“That’s just one thing that we as one mainstream brand are doing,” exclaimed Mr. Eustace.

“Overall the motor industry deserves praise and thanks for the ongoing pioneering safety work it is constantly engaged in to make everyday motoring safer for every road user.

“However, all we hear from LTNZ is endless publicity about how its speeding campaigns, drink-driving blitzes and so on are doing the job.”

“They are important factors certainly, but there’s plenty more to the story.”

“Take Transit New Zealand for example … here is an organisation which does much behind the scenes, improving the nation’s road network.”

“Transit is constantly improving the identified black spots and difficult sections of roads yet, like the motor industry, its contribution goes unsung.”

“It’s time LTNZ got real and gave credit where it’s due, rather than grabbing the limelight for itself,” Mr. Eustace stated.

ENDS

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