Most common road safety breaches in Napier and Hastings revealed

Drivers are being urged to stay off their mobile phones while driving. Photo / File

The three most common road safety breaches in Napier and Hastings have been revealed as part of Road Safety Week.

Police and RoadSafe staff have observed the behaviour of roughly 75,000 drivers and vehicles over the past two years along busy roads in both cities, during “spotting checkpoints”.

That includes along Heretaunga St, Pakowhai Rd and Omahu Rd in Hastings, and Latham St and Hyderabad Rd in Napier.

Data from those observations has been released as part of Road Safety Week, running this week.

Breaches of basic road safety rules include:

• Drivers using a mobile phone: 978 observations (around 1.32%, or 13.17 per 1000 vehicles)

• Drivers not wearing a seatbelt: 723 observations (around 0.97%, or 9.73 per 1000 vehicles)

• Speed infringements recorded: 270 observations (around 0.36%, or 3.63 per 1000 vehicles)

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) councillor Neil Kirton, chair of the Regional Transport Committee, said the data highlighted the need for drivers to take greater responsibility.

“The reality is safety on our roads comes down to everyday choices drivers make.

“Using a phone, not wearing a seatbelt or driving too fast might seem minor in the moment, but these are the behaviours that put lives at risk.

“If we want fewer serious injuries and deaths, drivers need to do better.”

The RoadSafe programme is a partnership of the five Hawke’s Bay councils, led by the transport team at HBRC.

Nationally, there has been a recent spike in road fatalities – 18 people have died in 14 crashes since April 20, a big increase on the same period last year.

“Road Safety Week is a reminder that slowing down, buckling up and staying focused can save lives,” Kirton said.