Police focus on freight carriers for Road Safety Week
Police are focusing on truck safety across the South Island this Road Safety Week.
Commercial Vehicle Investigation Police (CVIU) staff are working together with other road policing partners with a focus on preventing and detecting vehicle defects, overloading, fatigue, impaired driving and other safety issues.
“It’s Road Safety Week so we’re working to ensure heavy motor vehicles, which make up a large percentage of road users, are safe,” said Inspector Bruce O’Brien, Manager CVIU.
“We’re carrying out inspections which aim to eliminate the increased risk of impaired or tired drivers travelling greater distances on our roads, and ensuring that the vehicles making the journey are safe.”
Because of their large mass, trucks tend to be over-represented in serious crashes.
In recent years, deaths from crashes involving trucks have made up around 18 percent of the total road toll, while only about six percent of the total distance travelled on New Zealand roads is travelled by trucks.
“Fatigue can be a cause of truck crashes so we want drivers to make sure they’re well-rested, taking regular breaks and looking after themselves on long haul drives,” said Inspector O’Brien
“We want to keep both the drivers of these heavy motor vehicles safe, and also those who share the roads with them.”