Readers believe there are issues about driving more important than speed. Photo / George Novak
Driver behaviour
With last year’s road toll record it seems the methods used in the Road to Zero campaign seem to be flawed with the obsession to control speed and ignoring other causes. With the reduction of offences to 5km over the limit it could cause more crashes as drivers have to glance at their speedo regularly, not concentrating on the traffic around. Some roads, such as the Remutaka Hill and Coromandel definitely need a lower limit, but a blanket 80km/h limit will achieve nothing but frustration. To lower the road toll police need to focus on driver behaviour such as tailgating, weaving in traffic, dangerous overtaking and general courtesy. Drivers could be identified by a dobbing in policy to identify repeat offenders. England and Europe have sensible faster limits where appropriate on their highways. John Horner, Mt Albert
Issues beyond speed
Our road toll will continue to climb until we address the other significant issues which contribute: hand-held cellphone use, tailgating, reluctance to be courteous to other drivers, ignorance of how to indicate at roundabouts and in general and a small but deadly core of recidivist drunk drivers who seem to be allowed to offend multiple times before the wet bus ticket comes out. Put a time limit on restricted licences, discount the resit fee for those trying to get their full license and retest everyone at least once in their lifetime of driving - say every 20 years. Speed is just one tool. Anyone who has driven any distance in Australia or almost anywhere else will agree that our driving in general has much room for improvement. That is what will make us safer on the road and reduce the toll. Fiona McAllister, Mt Maunganui
Adding to risk
In response to Ray Green’s letter: It may be true that speed is not the cause of a crash. However, when a crash happens, whatever the cause, the kinetic energy inherent in the moving car is used up, in a fraction of a second, to crumple the car (and possibly the driver). Unfortunately, the amount of energy rises with the square of the speed, i.e. a car moving at 100km/h contains 50 per cent more energy than a car that is moving at 80km/h. This is the difference between being carried away on a stretcher or in a body bag. K H Peter Kammler, Warkworth
Sounds case
It seems to me that Scott Watson is in jail due to a monumental defence mistake. If it is an irrefutable fact, and it is, that Watson was back on his yacht 400m from shore at about 3am, then the Crown have to prove equally irrefutably how he got back to shore in time to catch the water taxi with Ben and Olivia and hour or two later. There is no such evidence. The paperwork shows that the police spent many, many hours trying to find evidence for how Watson got back to shore, and failed. The Crown prosecutor, in his closing address, brought up the double-trip idea, like getting a lift with someone, and the defence was reported as being astounded. Really? It should have been the foundation stone of the defence from the beginning. Being on a yacht 400m from shore is not that different to being locked inside a room. He stays in there until someone shows how he got out. It’s known as a cast-iron alibi. Geoff Levick, Kumeu
Police actions
My eyes widened when a man on the ground wailed while being bitten by an alsatian (as the dog handler watched) and kicked by the police that was filmed on TV One News. The man was being arrested on minor charges. I hope photographs were taken of the puddle of blood a policeman was hosing down for an inquiry. We should have an independent authority like many other Western countries to investigate adverse police tactics. The Herald reported that cops had 150 charges against them since 2016. Overall, the police do a great service but like all jobs, must be disciplined for their misdeeds. Rex Head, Papatoetoe
Voter base
This Government has passed (among others) two pieces of legislation that will hurt most of their traditional voter base. Firstly the CCCFA was originally designed to clamp down on unscrupulous finance companies. Its restrictive access regime not only cost the banking and finance industry millions of dollars to implement due to technology changes, it has made the sector incredibly risk adverse due its punitive compliance oversight and has ensured that responsible credit is now inaccessible to a complete sector of the population. It also failed to include Buy Now Pay Later lenders into the act and still allows Payday lenders to charge up to 50 per cent interest per annum. Then there is the Clean Car Programme which not only offers rebates to higher income people who purchase low-emission vehicles (who can afford them), the new carbon registration scheme. which has just come into effect, will seriously limit the amount of used cars being imported into New Zealand. This will effectively push up the prices of all existing NZ used cars whether carbon friendly or not. John Roberts, Remuera
Battery hens
Instead of recognising that we in New Zealand have food choices many in the world are denied, some people have become exercised about the shortage of eggs. As far back as 2013 when the then National government committed to banning battery chicken cages for layer hens the Primary Industries Minister at the time, Nathan Guy, backed down. The egg industry knew the writing was on the wall and had they heeded the public mood and subsequent government deadlines for phasing out battery cages we would not be in this predicament. It sickens me when I know how grim these battery farms are where wretched, demented, often sick birds are crammed into putrid cages barely able to move let alone stretch their wings or perform any of the natural behaviours of chickens. Some years ago I approached John Key about this situation and he assured me something was going to be done and added “and before you ask, we’re going to do the same for the pigs”. So thanks to the then National government and to Countdown and Foodstuffs for doing the right thing. Judy Morley-Hall, Raumati Beach
Nature and nurture
Christine Smith (Letters, January 3) believes damaging formative experiences are responsible for a child’s anti-social behaviour when they become older. Having previously worked in Corrections for almost 40 years, I can say with certainty children raised in homes where domestic violence and substance abuse prevailed is a common denominator for those who appear before the courts, particularly when the offending is serious. That said, the nature/nurture debate is not to be ignored. For many years I supervised a life parolee who had been convicted of murdering his landlady in a drunken rage. His father and a brother had also been convicted of murder. Co-incidence? I do not believe so. There have been many similar cases worldwide that support the proposition that a gene mutation, labelled the warrior gene, plays a crucial role in violent aggression. And genetic traits can overcome a damaging childhood, as the longitudinal study by Dr David Ferguson showed. So the issue is complex, but there can be no doubt children raised in a caring, stable, home environment are much less likely to appear before a court. Bruce Anderson, Christchurch
Key and China
I found John Key’s opinion piece about China very informative and hopefully it can be a blueprint for future New Zealand leaders in dealing with that country. He says China has been a game changer for our economy and that is why he made seven visits there as Prime Minister. Fascinating to hear him say that the Chinese goal is to be nothing like America with their inequality and social unrest. Equally interesting to hear his comment that China does not have a history of invading others. In my opinion this is quite the opposite of the US, which has flexed its military muscle in many, many countries. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan just to name a few. Key summed up by saying that anyone looking for China to be more like the West should forget it. Key also says New Zealand is a country that China genuinely listens to. In this regard we could, I suggest, be the envy of the world. This didn’t happen by accident. Helen Clark, Key, and Jacinda Ardern have all fostered good relationships with China knowing full well that our very prosperity relies on it. Let’s hope future governments are smart enough to continue. We can have strong relationships with China and our long-standing friends in the UK, Australia and US. Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay
Being tidy Kiwis
What’s happened to being a “tidy Kiwi”? I’ve just arrived back from visiting Japan. We visited the Nagoya Metropolitan Area, with an estimated population of 11.3 million compared to the New Zealand’s population of 5.1 million. People, tightly concentrated in busy bustling streets. Japan is a country where plastic covers everything, plastic within plastic. And yet where was the rubbish lying around the streets? There was none. Not only that, but there were no public rubbish bins on the streets. The expectation is for people to take it home with them. I think the difference between Japan and us was discipline. The country has for generations been a country of discipline. We are the country that boasts clean and green. I’d love to see NZ showing the discipline the Japanese have with regards to rubbish. We are streets ahead with reducing plastic, the next step for us is to put what rubbish we do have in the bin. Bronwyn Dyer, Hikutaia
Postal advantage
I have just completed an online registration for my car, following postal notification. The hard copy included a “reminder number” that enabled me to pay the fee via credit card securely in less than a minute. Scammers avoid postal mail - they have to pay postage fees to the tens of thousands of people they otherwise bombard. Registration renewal is a regular email target of scammers. NZTA has a box on its website to alert users to report any signs of “phishing”. I was therefore surprised that its postal notification had splashed across it in two prominent places a message to go to its website and “add your email address to receive all your reminders by email in future”. My immediate thought on reading this cost-cutting measure was that scammers will be dancing with glee as it removes a safeguard car owners can rely on. So I will continue to receive future NZTA registration renewals by post, thank you. Sometimes the old and tried ways are preferable to the cost-cutting, paperless society we are being “virtue signalled” into. Graeme Putt, Remuera
Meghan and Harry
Europe is in turmoil with the war, and many people are doing it tough over there, especially with heating and limited food supplies. Apparently there is a 24-hour wait in accident and emergency wards in the UK. The Meghan and Harry celebrity whinge-fest doesn’t sound caring and philanthropic. This pair live in the lap of luxury in a mansion. They don’t count their many blessings, and seem to live in a delusion of fake victimhood. Hearing them constantly diss their family, the monarchy, the Commonwealth and the British press sounds tedious and whiny. They should both stop their bleating because everyone is bored with them. E Smith, Waitakere
Short and sweet
On Covid
In the face of China’s Covid policy, will the current Government default to its usual policy of calling for expensive reports or will it get off its backside and implement what the rest of the world has already done and require negative pre-departure tests immediately? Peter Patten, Albany
On prescriptions
One way to provide GPs with more time to treat patients that they need to see would be to allow regular medication for other patients to be prescribed for longer than three months. Many prescriptions could probably done annually with the chemist simply instructed to repeat an order (should it be impractical to issue for a full year). That would help to ease the doctor shortage problem. Gary Andrews, Mt Maunganui
On emissions
Robin Treadwell seems to be under the impression that a vehicle travelling slower will automatically emit fewer carbon emissions. This is obviously not correct, otherwise we would all be driving around in second gear. Most modern vehicles are designed so that their most economical and cleanest operating speed occurs when they are cruising at the 95 - 100km/h level. At a lower speed they cost more to run and are less efficient. Peter Lewis, Forrest Hill
On politics
Nick Nicholas’ question “which is the lesser incompetent party to choose” would be less problematic if the electorate had been educated in ethics and civics. Climate change makes that an imperative. Kenneth Lees, Whangarei
On fireworks
The time has surely come to either ban private fireworks entirely or restrict them to a mid-winter Matariki. This saves our emergency services and our environment. Fireworks now seem to be available to purchase any time. The power of fireworks now makes them unsuitable for our increasingly built-up suburbs. I noted that where I live very loud explosions went on until well into the new year. For the sake of our environment, our birds and animals, and to be serious about our warming world we need to ban fireworks. Trish Jenner, Bayswater
On ballots
I object strenuously to the concept of gambling with people’s lives. A ballot for residency is unfair and lazy. Having been caught in a ballot for military service, I was expected to spend three months in the army, while my friends did not. Why me? Because of my birthdate. Residency should be granted to those with the most useful skills, not on the toss of the dice. Neville Cameron, Coromandel
The pause in aid affects health, education, and tourism marketing.