Wednesday, 8 January 2014 - 1:27pm |
Northland

Northland Police amazed at high speeds clocked by drivers

2 min read

Police are amazed at the speeds that some drivers have been clocked at in Northland over recent days.

Last week a man was stopped on State Highway One at Oakleigh for driving at 142km/h. He was instantly disqualified from driving for 28 days and will have to go to court for dangerous driving.

Last Friday Police stopped a man who was driving at 129km/h in an 80km/h zone on Riverside Drive (at the bottom of the Onerahi hill) in the early hours of the morning. This person again lost his licence and will appear in court on driving charges.

This morning a 27-year-old man picked the wrong place to do a burn-out and run a red light. The vehicle was heard outside the Whangärei Police Station, so Police gave chase. When they stopped the man, Police discovered he was also breaching his bail and his learner licence conditions. He was arrested for the breach of bail and received tickets for sustained loss of traction, running a red light and breaching licence conditions.  The tickets were worth a total of $900.

Northland Road Policing Manager Inspector Murray Hodson says this man could have killed or seriously injured a pedestrian when he ran the red light.

"I'm also amazed at the high speeds that some motorists are still driving at. It only takes a small obstruction on the road to send a car at that speed out of control. And that can only lead to disastrous consequences."

Last year (2013) the road toll for the whole country was at its lowest for 60 years, but Northland's road toll was creeping up again.
"We can see why when drivers are driving at these break-neck speeds. It's only pure luck that stops them from being killed or killing someone else."

Mr Hodson reminds motorists that the 4km/h speed tolerance is still operating and the reason for this is to stop deaths and serious injury on the roads.

"The majority of motorists are observing the speed limit and as a result we are having few serious crashes. But if some drivers keep flouting the speed limit then we will have a tragedy on our hands."

Mr Hodson says all Police staff, not just Highway Patrol, will be highly visible on the roads over summer, but Police also rely on the motoring public to report poor or dangerous driving.

"Please use the *555 number to report bad driving and remember you can use your cellphone while driving when you call this number. We will act on those calls."

For media inquiries contact Northland Police Communications Manager Sarah Kennett on 09 430 4525 or 021 192 1099.