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Stuart Nash and Julie Anne Genter
Wellington, December 1, 2017
Police Minister Stuart Nash and Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter have stepped up to support Police and the NZ Transport Agency launch their pre-Christmas safety campaign, in the hopes to prevent the road toll from rising any further.
Mr Nash issued the following statement:
More people have died on our roads this year than any year since 2010 so something has to change.
As Police Minister, I want to ensure that our Police have the resources they need to help keep people safe on our roads.
Drivers’ responsibility
The government is doing their bit by increasing resources for Police and looking at options to improve roads that are a high risk for fatal crashes.
However, Police can’t be everywhere. Drivers need to be present, take note of the conditions around them and drive accordingly – with 100% concentration.
The launch of ‘We want you here for Christmas,’ campaign is a joint initiative of the Police and the New Zealand Transport Agency.
It aims to educate drivers that road safety is everybody’s responsibility. They are committed to reducing death and injury on our roads, but cannot do it alone.
The focus will be on changing people’s behaviour around four main contributors of trauma on our roads – people not wearing their seatbelts, going too fast for the conditions, driving drunk, drugged, or tired, and being distracted by things like cell phones.
Enjoy Christmas
Ms Genter mentioned the following:
Road safety is her number one priority.
I don’t want to see more families heading into Christmas without their loved ones.
These crashes are taking away people’s family, their friends, their loved ones. We are losing members of our communities.
I strongly encourage every New Zealander to heed the advice and be responsible every time they get behind the wheel.
Police and NZTA are to be commended for their efforts.
They both reiterate: “The message is clear – we want you here for Christmas.”
http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/drive-safely-we-want-you-here-christmas
Photo caption:
Julie Anne Genter and Stuart Nash with a new Police Santa recruit and Police puppy Tumeke, who are the stars of the new social media campaign.
