40 crashes in one month: Whanganui police's plea to stay safe on roads

How has this crash happened? The driver was affected by alcohol.

Forty crashes were investigated by Whanganui police during November.

This follows 36 crashes in October. Sadly two of these crashes resulted in the deaths of people involved.

Crashes can have a tragic consequence and there is nearly always an element of human error involved. Even when a crash is considered a minor crash there is a big impact on those involved.

In November, 15 crashes occurred at intersections and only three occurred on rural roads.

There were at least seven crashes where alcohol was a factor which is disappointing.

Interestingly there were four crashes where drivers have crashed into parked cars and a further three crashes that occurred in business car parks.

This was an intersection crash.

These crashes show that distractions and impairments contribute significantly to crashes. A moment's inattention while driving can have horrendous results.

Across Whanganui our local police will have a particular focus on impaired drivers during December, as well as policing for other traffic infringements.

Here is a crash where a car was driven into a parked car due to inattention or distraction by a driver.

There will be checkpoints and random breath testing on drivers.

Please make every effort to stay safe on our roads over summer.
• Damon Evans is a Sergeant with the Whanganui Police.