The AA is asking all drivers to remember to look in the mirror as we head towards the Easter break.

For the first three months of the year there had been a welcome reduction in road deaths but April has been a horrendous month so far and the number of people killed has jumped back up to where it was this time in 2018.

“We know that improving road safety involves improving the quality of our roads, getting people into safer vehicles and making sure we have safe speed limits for different environments but none of that is going to change by this weekend,” says AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen.

“But every single one of us can take a good look in the mirror ahead of the holiday break and think about whether there are some things we could do better?”

The Police have said they will be out in force this holiday period and the AA is right behind a highly visible Police presence on the roads because it makes people drive more safely.

“If there is a Police car around it’s amazing how the instances of people doing things like risky overtaking, drifting across the centreline, racing to beat a red light or following too closely disappear,” says Dylan.

“It shows that just about all of us can drive a bit safer if we want to and the AA would like every driver to aim for doing one thing better this weekend, and every time they are on the road.

“For some people that may be keeping a better following distance, for someone else it might be not using their phone behind the wheel, and for others it might be slowing down or taking more breaks when you’re driving.”

The AA’s top Easter tips:

• Give yourself more following distance – as least 2-seconds in good conditions
• Drive at a safe speed for the conditions
• Stay fresh and alert. Take regular breaks and don’t drive tired.
• Be prepared for sun-strike in the morning and late afternoon.

Hanging up on a dangerous habit

The AA and Vodafone have recently teamed up to send a message about the growing risks from drivers using their phones behind the wheel.

A second video encouraging people to leave the phone alone will go out via social media today and can be viewed here.

“A lot of the risky things drivers do can be inadvertent – no one decides to be distracted, or tired, or to not see something – but you don’t accidentally use your phone,” says Dylan.

“It’s an easy fix and entirely up to you. This latest video is again trying to get people to think about why they should leave the phone alone in an entertaining way.”

For more information contact:

Dylan Thomsen
Road safety spokesperson
New Zealand Automobile Association
T. 04 931 9991
M. 027 703 9935
E. dthomsen@aa.co.nz