Whanganui drivers relatively well-behaved over festive season, but police still have concerns

Colin Wright says police messaging will stay the same in 2023. Photo / Bevan Conley

In contrast to other parts of the country, there were few crashes on the roads in and around Whanganui over the festive season.

Sergeant Colin Wright, who is in charge of road policing in Whanganui, said things remained relatively quiet over Christmas and New Year, which was standard for that time of year locally.

“We’ve been busy in many other respects, but on the roads, everything has been pretty good.”

There was a “very nasty crash” on December 26 at Kai Iwi involving three vehicles, but luckily it wasn’t fatal, Wright said.

According to the Ministry of Transport, there were 37 road fatalities in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in 2022, up from 30 the year before.

The official holiday period (December 23 to January 4) ended with a preliminary total of 21 deaths across the country.

New Zealand had its highest road toll for four years in 2022, with 377 people dying on the country’s roads.

The Whanganui area made up a very small part of that number, Wright said.

“There are obviously families out there who have lost people. Every death is tragic.

“Generally speaking, we have been very fortunate, though.”

In 2021, the Ministry of Transport estimated the average social cost per fatal crash in the Manawatū-Whanganui region was $5,726,200.

It was $755,400 per serious injury crash and $108,100 per minor injury crash.

Social costs refer to factors such as loss of life or quality of life, permanent injury or temporary disability, emergency, hospital and rehabilitation costs, legal and court costs and vehicle damage.

Heading into 2023, police messaging remained the same as it had for years, Wright said.

“Take your time, and obviously don’t use your phones when you’re driving.

“If you are going to drink, get someone else to drive. Do the sensible thing.

“With the weather we’ve had, you’ve got to be up to scratch with tyres and lights. Make sure you’re well rested, too, because tiredness is another problem at this time of year.”

Wright said people often forgot that if they drank the night before, especially heavily, alcohol could still be in their system the following day.

Whanganui police breath-tested every driver they stopped.

“That will continue, and impairment teams from Palmerston North and New Plymouth will be coming over more regularly.

“We will definitely be ramping up the breath-testing side of things.”

While the vast majority of motorists complied, there remained a small group of people in Whanganui who refused to wear seatbelts, Wright said.

“I’m not sure what the reason is for not wearing one.

“In regard to cellphone use, we’ve become so dependent on them in our lives that we don’t think about the consequences of using them while driving.”

Police had stopped a lot of people with Bluetooth-compatible cars who hadn’t paired up their phones.

“Whether that’s through incompetence, laziness or whatever, I don’t know. The technology is there - use it,” Wright said.

There would be an increase in operations in 2023 to catch motorists using cellphones, he said.