Board game launched for safer road trips

Reach the Beach board game. Photo / NZ Police

A family friendly board game, Reach the Beach, has been created by police and the Accident Compensation Corporation to encourage safer journeys on the roads over summer.

To "reach the beach" safely, players take turns rolling a dice as they drive through a range of road side challenges.

When a player lands on a square showing good driving behaviour they get to move forward and conversely there is a penalty for landing on squares with bad behaviour.

National manager road policing Superintendent Carey Griffiths said staff would start handing the game out to passengers at the Interislander Ferry terminal today.

Officers would also distribute the limited edition game as part of regular community activities and during checkpoints throughout the country.

"ACC have partnered with police in a national campaign to make the driving public aware that there will be no tolerance for speeding this summer.

"The Reach the Beach board game is a fun way to get other road safety messages out to travelling families. The goal is to start conversations about road safety and to help prevent deaths and injuries on the road," Mr Griffiths said.

The game illustrated that people's choices on the roads around speed, alcohol, wearing safety belts, following distance, and fatigue levels affected the whole family and other travellers, he said.

"Most road safety issues are easy for children grasp, but are sometimes forgotten by adults. Children can be powerful influencers and we hope that by playing this game, families will find these messages harder to ignore."