With wet and windy weather forecast for much of the country over the Easter holiday weekend, keeping a safe following distance when you’re driving will be even more important, says the Automobile Association.

Rain and high winds are expected to batter much of the North Island and, combined with more people travelling on the roads, maintaining a safe buffer to the car ahead is one of the best safety tips drivers can keep in mind.

“When the roads are wet or visibility is poor, drivers should double their following distance to four seconds,” says AA spokesperson Dylan Thomsen.

“Start counting when the car in front of you goes past a road sign or object on the side of the road and you need to be able to say one-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand three, one-thousand four before you pass the same sign.

“You want to give yourself enough stopping distance so you don’t have to slam on the brakes if something unexpected happens in front of you. This also reduces your chance of being hit by anyone following you.”

On a dry road in good driving conditions, drivers should keep at least a two-second following distance.

Keeping a correct following distance also saves drivers money as they are less likely to brake and accelerate heavily, which uses more petrol.

The other piece of advice the AA would like slower drivers and those towing to follow this holiday weekend is to keep left and to pull over regularly to let other vehicles pass safely.

Police will be enforcing the lower 4kph speed limit tolerance but will also be focussing on inconsiderate slower drivers who impede the flow of traffic by not pulling over.

“A really common frustration is when a vehicle that has been going slower than the flow of traffic suddenly speeds up when it reaches a passing lane,” says Mr Thomsen.

“If you have several cars behind you, make a point of slowing down in the left lane at a passing lane to make it easier for anyone wanting to pass you.”

For more information contact:

Dylan Thomsen
Communications adviser
New Zealand Automobile Association
T. (04) 931 9991
M. 027 781 3254
Email: dthomsen@aa.co.nz

The New Zealand Automobile Association is an incorporated society with over one million members. It represents the interests of road users who collectively pay over $2 billion in taxes each year through fuels excise, road user charges and GST.