POLICE---Play it safe and be kind on the roads this weekend
Be kind and take extra care on the road this weekend – that’s the message from Police and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency this Queen’s Birthday Weekend. "As people prepare to go away for the first long weekend since lockdown, we want to remind them they will be sharing the road with a lot more people than they’ve been used to for a while. And with more people comes more risk,” says Acting Superintendent Gini Welch, National Manager for Road Policing.
“We need people to remember the basics of road safety; wear your seatbelt, stay within the speed limit and drive to the conditions of the road, put your phone away, always make sure you are sober and alert.
Share the driving if you can. “This is the first long weekend the country has had since the start of the year where people are actually able to leave town as part of Alert Level 2. “We know people will be keen to catch up with friends and family they have missed around the country.
That likely means they’ll be eager to get going and get there. “So we want to remind people that there will be traffic and there will be hold ups, so it’s important to stay calm and patient. The important thing is arriving at your destination safely. “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Kiwis have done a great job of being kind to each other. And being kind on the roads is just as vital as anywhere else. “How you act on the roads has an impact on everybody else around you. So, let’s remember to be kind and take care of each other,” Acting Superintendent Welch says. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Senior Road Safety Manager Fabian Marsh says Queen’s Birthday weekend is also a good time for people to move into a safe winter driving mindset. “While most of the country has had a long summer and an unusually fine autumn, winter weather is starting to set in. We’re now seeing a drop in overnight temperatures, and more cold, wet, windy days. The change in the weather is a good prompt to think about safe winter driving. “Ice, fog, rain, and snow can all make for treacherous road conditions, so it’s important to allow extra time for your journeys and drive to the road and weather conditions. “It’s also important to ensure your car is safe, roadworthy, and well equipped for winter driving, with a safe spare tyre, lights, brakes and windscreen-wipers all working, and a clean windscreen inside and out.” Waka Kotahi’s website contains more easy tips for safe winter driving: nzta.govt.nz/winterjourneys. “These tips are particularly important heading into the long Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend, with more traffic on our roads,” says Mr Marsh. Police officers will continue to be highly visible on the roads throughout the long weekend, ensuring those who are travelling are driving safely.
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In one word, how would you define 2024?
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⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️