Canterbury Highway Patrol Summer is on its way, and with the warmer weather we will start to see the increase in traffic on our highways. The Canterbury Highway Patrol are out on the roads 365 days of the year, and when things haven’t gone well for someone, our Serious Crash Unit gets called out. This occurs on average 100 times a year for serious and fatal crashes. As much as the Highway Patrol staff like meeting people and saying “hi”, I thought I’d take this opportunity to give you some hints on how to avoid us interrupting your day, and help you make it to your destination safely without interrupting the day of the Serious Crash Unit.
These first few hints hopefully need no explanation. Adhere to the posted speed limit, drive sober and drug free, drive phone free and ensure that you, and everyone else in your car, has their seat belt on. Easy! I’m sure everyone knows the next few, but let’s go over them anyway. Following distances. No one likes a tailgater. The two second rule is the easy guide to know if you are doing it right. Watch the vehicle in front of you pass a landmark, then count ‘one thousand and one, one thousand and two’, if you pass the landmark before you have finished saying that, you are too close. At 50km/h you should be 20 meters or five car lengths back. Add a car length for each 10km/h faster you are travelling at.
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