Drivers win praise for record-low toll

The Land Transport Safety Authority is praising drivers for achieving the lowest Easter road toll on record.

Two people were killed, the lowest number since records began in 1956.

Authority director David Wright yesterday thanked drivers for good behaviour and for being patient over the holiday break.

"The weather was pretty atrocious at times, and there were some lengthy delays on the state highways," he said.

"Police tell us that most people seemed to drive to the conditions and accept that it would just take longer to get where they were going.

"It's encouraging to see and drivers deserve credit for being so patient."

Mr Wright said Easter was also the first time the police highway patrol had been on the roads at full strength and its visible presence had possibly helped to deter people from speeding.

The official Easter period started at 4pm on Thursday and ended at 6am yesterday.

This Easter's record follows several years of single-figure road fatalities over the break. It is half last year's toll of four and down from six the year before that.

Inspector John Kelly, of traffic operations at the Police Commissioner's office, said yesterday that no single factor had produced the low toll.

"The lousy weather means people have to slow down. But it also means there are likely to be more crashes, so there is more likelihood of people being killed," he said.

"It's a combination of factors. I would like to think that people are taking the road safety message on board and that they are taking care of themselves and their loved ones."

The worst Easter on record was in 1971, when 21 people died.

The last time the toll was in double figures was 1994, when it was 10.

The only fatal accident at Easter happened on Good Friday. North Shore resident Michael Stuart Morris, aged 46, and his daughter Seren, 10, died on State Highway 27 near Tahuna, 19km north of Morrinsville.

- NZPA

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