Concern about lack of driver education

Press, 30 August 1986, Page 35

Concern about lack of driver education

PA Wanganui It was clear some of the 100,000 new drivers coming on to the roads each year were not competent to drive at lOOkm/h in some circumstances, said the national president of the Road Safety Association, Mr Bert Feist "It would be very hard to legislate a speed limit that is suitable to every driver and every occasion.”

Mr Feist said he was concerned there was little in the way of driver education in New Zealand compared with some other countries, but he

hoped the soon-to-be-in-troduced three-'ier licensing system would improve this situation. Many motorists, he said, forgot their obligations to others on the road by travelling too fast, or too slowly or too close. Road safety groups in New Zealand, including Wanganui, of which Mr Feist is a longstanding member, are split over the issue of whether the lOOkm/h speed limit, introduced on trial in July last year, should stand or whether it was a factor in the increasing road toll', he said. “Some of our members

want the speed limit lowered, but it is my personal view that this will not achieve anything.” He said there was little evidence that the road toll had risen as a direct result of the lOOkm/h limit, and this suggested the escalation was due to a combination of factors. • The Ministry of Transport has recommended the lOOkm/h limit should be kept under review. In presenting the results of its inquiry since the higher limit was introduced, it told Parliament’s Communications and Road Safety Committee there was insufficient evidence “at this stage” to justify any further change.