At this week’s meeting we were fortunate to have Luke Elliot with us reporting back for the road safety conference he attended in NZ with the help of Bayside and Bellarine North Rotary clubs.

 

Chairperson Ian Aranyosi introduced Luke, inviting him to share the information he brought back from the conference.

 

Luke spoke about some very interesting facts about road safety from a South Australian study that was done recently.

54% of road deaths are with just a single person in the car.

80% involve speeds over 100k.

30% have no seat belts. (that surprised me)

And 22% involve drugs.
 

Luke attended sessions on Driver Behaviour and learnt that it accounts for 95% of deaths on our roads. Speaking on the phone while driving has the same effect as being drunk while driving.

We also heard about how the city of Christchurch has changed.

 

After the earthquake in 2011 killing 185 people now is being rebuilt as a greener safer city, with traffic kept to 30k hour in every built-up area.

 

Encouraging people to use their cars less, better for the environment and for our health.

 

Creating and using more bike paths as our Scandinavian cousins do. Plus an interesting fact that there was a 6% drop in C02 admissions during covid lockdowns.

 

Luke said he returned with more awareness and understanding of what is needed in regional areas as that is where his focus is.