Lane sweeping has nothing to do with keeping the road clean but everything to do with avoiding a messy accident.

Whanganui Police and Horizons Regional Council staff were stationed on Taupo Quay near the Whanganui City Bridge during the late afternoon "rush hour" on Friday, September 22, to educate drivers about lane sweeping.

Lane sweeping refers to changing lanes in the middle of an intersection and is illegal. The message from the education campaign is "stick to your own lane".

Horizons' roadsafe co-ordinator Glenda Leitao said she had observed consistent bad driving on the City Bridge.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I stood on the bridge and counted one in eight vehicles in the wrong lane that tried to cross over [to the adjacent lane] straight away," Mrs Leitao said.

Constable Vaughan Patching said the campaign was to educate motorists, not punish them, and drivers had been given pamphlets about the correct behaviour at intersections with parallel lanes.

"If you're in the left lane and you're turning, you need to stay in the left lane. Same if you're in the right lane. You can't change to the opposite lane until you're through the intersection."

Mrs Leitao said the lane arrows in the approaches to the City Bridge may be moved further back so it is easier for drivers to see which lane they are going into when there is a queue of traffic.