Paul Hickey: New season brings changes to roads

Remember the drink-driving limits have gone down when you are planning a few Christmas drinks. Photo / File

We are now a week into the new month, which brought a few changes with it, namely my favourite time of the year - summer!

While it took a couple of extra days to get here, it's been worth it with an amazing weekend, which was great.

December also meant the start of the new alcohol limits, which has seemed to cause a little bit of confusion over just how much is now okay.

The standard line of "two for men, one for women", which some agencies are promoting, is really outdated and sexist, and the other saying - "the only good amount of alcohol before driving is zero" - is almost laughable.

Don't get me wrong; I am not condoning getting drunk and then driving by any stretch.

But like most workplaces, we tend to enjoy knocking off a little bit early on a Friday and having a drink or two with our colleagues.

But this change has certainly given us reason to pause and think, which I find distressing.

In this age where our communication is already being taken over by technology such as Facebook and texting, I would hate to see the Friday afternoon social face-to-face drinkies also disappear from our lives.

Another of the changes has been the reduced speed limits on some of our roads, the most populous being Fenton St's motel strip reduced from 60km/h to 50km/h. I have already spied a few speeders pulled up on this bit of road and there will be plenty more I am sure. I drove it last week at 50km/h, and was passed by everyone.

One of the worst roads in town for speeders is on Te Ngae Rd heading into town - just outside Lynmore School, where it becomes double-laned. I'm doing the speed limit of 60km/h and almost 100 per cent of the time the car behind be will change lanes ASAP and pass me, then give me a dirty look for driving at the limit.

It has been a busy couple of days for The Hits team, with the Christmas Parade on Saturday and the Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon on Sunday. I was hosting both events which had a really positive vibe to them; well done to all the kids who completed the TRY, and to all the entrants who entered floats into the parade, particularly Kidicorp, who won the supreme award, The Hits Shield.

Tonight the community activity continues for us, with the big '2014 Rotorua Daily Post & The Hits 97.5 Food Drive for The Salvation Army Foodbank'. There groups of volunteers out tonight around Ngongotaha, Western Heights and Springfield, so listen out for us after 6pm, or if you live outside these areas, why not take a drive and come and join the food drive anyway, the more the merrier for a great cause.

-Paul Hickey is the host of the locally based 9am to 3pm show on The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM. Follow on Facebook The Hits Rotorua and on Twitter @paulhickeynz.