Vehicle safety under scrutiny

COMPLIANCE: Police are this month carrying out "Twirl" tests covering tyres, windscreens, indicators, rust and lights. PHOTO/APN

Blitz welcomed in wake of more deadly crashes in Wairarapa

With an increase in fatal road crashes in Wairarapa in 2013 local police are welcoming a nationwide crackdown on vehicle safety.

Police are conducting roadside compliance checks this month, involving checks on every vehicle stopped to make sure it is roadworthy, using a "Twirl" test: tyres, windscreens, indicators, rust and lights.

The checks are part of a wider vehicle safety campaign promoting awareness of vehicle safety and encouraging owners to take a more active role in keeping their vehicles safe.

National manager of road policing Superintendent Carey Griffiths said the focus of the campaign was encouraging drivers to make sure their vehicles were roadworthy at all times, "not just at the one point in time when their warrant or certificate of fitness is issued", he said. People caught repeatedly driving an unsafe car, or operating a car with significant safety defects, could expect it to be pink or green stickered and to potentially incur on-the-spot fines and infringements.

Wairarapa police Senior Sergeant Jymahl Glassey hopes the campaign will help reduce the number of deadly crashes on Wairarapa roads.

"We have had an increase in fatal accidents through 2013 and therefore it's important to police locally that we prevent these sorts of accidents," he said.

"Poorly kept vehicles are one of the identifying, contributing factors to vehicle accidents. The ultimate goal [of the campaign] is to reduce road trauma and harm, and ensuring vehicles are of a safe standard will contribute to that."

He said Wairarapa police were already checking all cars they stopped for safety issues but the public could expect less leniency and "stricter enforcement around infringements".

"The public should be aware of the national campaign and heed the warning ... go and get the work done that they need to get done, before being stopped by police in a position where they are issued with an infringement.

"People should be proactive about fixing any problems that they do have."