Linda Hall: V plates may save some grief

Linda Hall.

Judy Richards' push for tourists to display a V plate when they are driving on our roads is a great idea.

The mother of Rhys Middleton, who was killed when a tourist clipped his motorcycle on State Highway 5 just outside Napier on Waitangi Weekend, has launched a petition for the use of the V plates for all "visitors, tourists and overseas people who buy or hire cars and drive them on our roads".

Mr Middleton's family is now broken forever. Family gatherings will never be the same and she is doing this so other families won't have to go through the same thing.

An article in the Herald on Sunday quotes Leo Mortimer from the Ministry of Transport saying there was no evidence the plates would change behaviour and prevent tragedies. He said most of the road tragedies came from Kiwis killing or injuring themselves or other Kiwis.

That may be true but where's the harm in at least trialling V plates?

I don't know about you but whenever I see an L plate in a driver's window I watch that car with extra care, just in case the driver does something unexpected. I know what you are thinking: half of Hawke's Bay needs L plates because there are some shocking drivers out there who take unneccessary risks at the peril of other road users.

Back to V plates. Surely it wouldn't cost a lot of money to put this in place. No, it's not going to make tourists drive any better but it will warn other road users to be extra vigilant around them.

Speaking of drivers doing unexpected things, have you noticed how many people suddenly think it's okay to pull out and "sit" in the middle of the road waiting to merge into traffic?

It's happened in front of me several times lately. A driver pulled out of St Georges Rd when the way was clear to their right and I was coming from the left. They just pulled out and sat in the middle of the road until my car and others behind me passed - I'm not sure how many cars were behind me.

That is so dangerous. Not only did my heart skip a beat when I saw them start to pull out, but there they were like a sitting duck in the middle of the road. They just can't seem to wait until both left and right are clear.

There are places you can do this - outside the airport springs to mind. Even with the specific road markings, those places are confusing but at least vehicles are moving and merging.

I could go on about some of the incidences of bad driving I've seen but I won't because we all have our bad-driver stories to tell. I will say, however, that patience is a virtue and it's a good idea to take a big dose of it every time you get behind the wheel.

Mr Neat hasn't been behind the wheel much this week. He's been sick - sneezing, coughing ... the works. I know when he's really sick because not only does he tell me about it every five minutes, he doesn't go in his shed - very unusual.

Staying home is also unusual for him but at least he kept his germs to himself.

With winter upon us, it's important to do just that. Don't feel guilty about staying away from work.

It's much worse if you go to work when you are sick, especially if you work with the public, and pass on your germs. I'm sure your boss would rather have you away for a few days than half the staff in a few days' time.

-Linda Hall is assistant editor of Hawke's Bay Today.