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Drivers 60+

A free two hour refresher session for experienced drivers.

Report a Crash

Report a non-injury crash in our district.

Services we Offer

We offer road safety education services, presentations and talks to community groups, schools, businesses and other organizations in the district. Call Daniel 687 7235
Useful Information

Visiting Drivers

Useful information for visiting drivers in New Zealand in your language

Winter Driving

Driving on our roads can be a challenging experience

Top Tips

Handy tips that could improve your safety on the road

Driving On Rural Roads

On most of our rural roads it's not safe to drive at 100km/h

Fatigue

Facts about how driving when tired can impair your driving

Links

Links to organizations relating to road safety in the district

Crash Trends

See the latest trends on crashes in the district.

Intersections

Most crashes happen at intersections. Check and check again.

Videos

Curated videos about driver behaviour and education on various road safety topics
FAQsContact Us
Contact us

Speed Limits

The speed limit is set as the maximum speed to travel under perfect conditions. Nevertheless, on most of our rural roads where the default speed limit is 100km/h, you cannot safely drive at that speed. Research has shown that speed limits should not be based on road width alone. Where road side objects create risk of injury, speed limits should be reduced.

Savings

Driving under the speed limit not only reduces the risk of a crash - it saves you money and reduces stress levels too.
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Non-believers

Many drivers believe it will never happen to them and ignore warnings about the risk of travelling too fast. This is selfish because they hold the lives of their passengers and other road users in their hands.

Speed Cameras

If you drive within the speed limit and adjust your speed to the conditions you won't have to worry about speed cameras or police officers checking for speeding drivers. Forget about all the schemes to "outsmart" the system and follow your speedo literally. In most cases the speedo will read a bit higher than the actual speed. Use the electronic speed signs in your area to check your speedo. Those signs are very accurate.

Safer Journeys!

Daniel Naude

Road Safety Coordinator for South Canterbury

Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie Districts

Tel: (03) 687 7235
Email: Daniel.Naude@timdc.govt.nz

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Speed kills a myth or not?

Unless you drive in outer space with extremely limited chances of hitting something, then yes just by going fast may not kill you. Unfortunately we all drive on roads here on earth and here speed is a factor. Why? There are too many road side hazards and road conditions a driver has no control over.

Most common road side hazards

Trees, telephone or electricity poles, ditches, embankments, water canals, rocks, stray animals, road signs, parked vehicles and limited recovery areas.

A simple illustration

Peter drives the same car on the same date and time, on the same road and crashes into the same tree. The weather and road conditions are all the same.
In the one incident Peter is not injured and in the other he is seriously hurt. Why?

The effect of speed comes into play when a driver has to avoid a crash. The higher the speed the less time there is to react. At 100km/h a vehicle moves forward at 27 meters per second.

Two aspects relating to speed

People make mistakes. While you are driving you have to be prepared to take evasive actions. The lower the speed the more time you have to take action and the less the risk
of losing control of your vehicle.

The second aspect is when a crash cannot be avoided; speed determines the seriousness of injury.

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What can you control?

You only have control over:

  • the choice of vehicle you use
  • the route you take
  • the number of passengers in the vehicle
  • the day and time you travel
  • your driving behaviour
  • the speed you travel at

You have NO control over:

  • other drivers
  • road conditions
  • the weather
  • what may be on the road at any particular time

When a vehicle crashes into a solid object, like another vehicle, tree, pole, ditch or the road surface speed is the determining factor of whether the driver and/or any passenger in the vehicle are killed, seriously injured, or walk away from the crash.

Stopping Distances

The effect of speed comes into play when a driver has to avoid a crash. The higher the speed the less time there is to react. At 100km/h a vehicle moves forward at 27 meters per second.

But I have a 5-star safety rated car...?

Awesome! It should reduce injury risk in most low to moderate impact crashes. However, the test for frontal impact crashes done by NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) all over the world is done at maximum 64 km/h (40mph).

"Even if the maximum speed limit is 120 km/h, few accidents occur at such speeds and where they do, it is beyond current capabilities to provide protection for the car's occupants". - EuroNCAP

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Mid & South Canterbury Road Safety

Toward Zero.

Community

SpeedAlcoholIntersectionsWinter DrivingYoung DriversDistraction

Info

Frequently Asked QuestionsPress KitContact UsCrash Trends

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