Editorial: Driving change on roads no easy feat

Is it just me or does it seem that as soon as it starts to rain, drivers are in even more of a hurry than normal? If they're not speeding up, they're certainly not slowing down, as far as I can tell.

Common sense often does not prevail when winter conditions set in and even just driving home from work on a rainy evening can have you on edge.

Frosty mornings can be the same. Nobody seems to change the way they drive at all. It was no surprise then one frosty morning last winter to round a corner at Hinehopu, having just negotiated a crash scene, to see another car crashed on the frosty roadside.

The frost was still clearly visible on the road, surely the driver had noticed?

Perhaps it's just that people overestimate their driving abilities or perhaps just their abilities to deal with dodgy conditions.

Failure to drive to the conditions and inattention, police say, is a major cause of crashes.

There was an accident in Rotorua yesterday when a driver allegedly failed to give way to another, causing a woman to crash into a tree. Fortunately, the woman was not seriously injured.

It was one of several crashes around the region yesterday, following Sunday's fatal smash on the Eastern Taupo Arterial where, by all accounts, the actions of a truck driver prevented the incident being worse than it already was.

As we head into winter, local police are urging motorists to take extra care, pay attention and to drive to the conditions.

It's a hackneyed old saying but it's true - would you rather get there a minute or two late than not at all? Don't take the risk.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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