Tararua District Police: Road safety warning as autumn brings increases in crashes

Police are also warning owners of high value, easy-to-shift commodities being targeted by dishonesty offenders.

Police car damaged

In the early hours of Saturday March 2, a lone police officer signalled a Ford vehicle to stop north of Dannevirke on State Highway 2.

Although the vehicle did stop as signalled, the driver of the vehicle then intentionally reversed into the police vehicle, damaging it, before they fled the scene.

Thankfully the police member was not injured in this event. Two days later, the same Ford vehicle was located in the southern Hawke’s Bay area, the vehicle again failed to stop for police.

Following the use of road spikes, the vehicle was stopped and the driver was taken into police custody with the assistance of a police dog handler and their dog. A 43-year-old male from Whanganui is assisting police with inquiries into both matters.

Road safety

As we head into autumn then the winter months, we traditionally see an increase in crashes on our roads.

This is often attributed to driving conditions becoming more challenging with wet roads and longer hours of darkness.

It is also a good time to check your car tyres and lights to make sure everything is in good working condition.

On the topic of road safety, there are currently several roading projects underway on both our rural and State Highway networks.

Remember that these sites are someone’s workplace. Make sure you drive to the temporary speed limits in place at those sites to ensure that other road users, roading contractors and you are safe.

Burglaries

Over the last two weeks, the clubhouses at the Eketāhuna and Pahīatua golf courses have both been subject to burglaries. From each location, a range of property has been taken, including golf clubs and other associated equipment.

Pahīatua police are investigating these matters and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has information about either of these offences or who has been offered cheap golf equipment. Please contact the Pahīatua police or call 105 and quote the file number 240228/8863 if you have any information about either offence.

Property warning

We continue to see examples of high value, easy-to-shift commodities being targeted by dishonesty offenders: things like chainsaws, motorcycles, trailers and golf clubs.

If you own this sort of property, and most of us do, consider tracking the items with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi tracking devices.

These items are becoming increasingly affordable and are now an extremely reliable way of locating stolen property.

Information about these devices can be found online or at most electronics retailers.