Editorial: Safety in our hands

Dangerous intersection at Marsh St and Chapel St.

When you hop into your car and go for a drive, no matter how near or far from home you may be going, you are putting your life in your hands.

You could be the safest driver on the road, but it's everyone else you have to worry about.

As reporters, we see a number of crashes, serious and minor, but some questions always get asked, "How did that happen?" and "How did they survive that?".

It's not nice seeing people who are victims of crashes, often not their fault. It is a sobering reminder that your life could change in an instant.

I wasn't surprised to read an article in today's Bay of Plenty Times in which a survey found 83 motorists failed to stop at two of the city's busiest intersections.

The survey was conducted by a reporter who spent an hour at the Chapel St and Marsh St intersection and another hour at the Cameron Rd and 15th Ave intersection.

One car ran a red light through the Cameron Rd intersection but seven cars ran reds through the Chapel St crossing.

The survey also showed a female motorist driving through the Chapel St intersection texting and three vehicles at the Cameron Rd intersection with dogs loose in the car or on the driver's lap.

Senior Sergeant Ian Campion says these results were in line with what police were regularly dealing with.

He says it was no surprise there was a high crash rate in the Bay because people were not concentrating while they were driving.

Several people I know still use their cellphones while driving, the dangers just don't seem to bother them, but how can you concentrate on driving when you are trying to construct a text message?

Maybe the $80 fine for being caught using your cellphone just isn't high enough.

Even if you don't use a cellphone while you are in the car, there's several other things which could distract you, changing the CD, adjusting the air con, talking to passengers. It is unrealistic to eliminate all of these distractions from your car.

Mr Campion says police had been discussing driver distractions over the past few weeks and how to deal with them. He says road safety was everyone's responsibility and I wholeheartedly agree.

Put the phone away, concentrate on the road and don't run red lights. It's not that hard.