The research was done by Research First for the Hurunui, Kaikoura, Waimakariri, Selwyn, Ashburton, Waitaki, Timaru, McKenzie and Waimate district councils, Environment Canterbury and the New Zealand Transport Agency to determine region-specific attitudes and perceptions towards road safety. Councils across Canterbury work together to address driver problems, says Waimakariri District Mayor and Canterbury Regional Road Safety Working Group chairman David Ayers.
''Infrastructure and vehicle safety improvements, speed management and enforcement only go so far in keeping road users safe,'' he says.
''We still need to ensure we have road users who take responsibility, are skilled, competent, alert and unimpaired.''
Waimakariri District Council road safety co-ordinator Kathy Graham says all drivers need to do an honest appraisal of their driving. ''Many of us feel other drivers are the ones who need to drive better, or we believe it is reckless drivers, or that the people who crash are taking risks.
''However we are regularly seeing crashes in our district involving people who drive the same route every day. They know the area well, yet they still fail to fully stop at an intersection and don't see another car approaching, or they are distracted and end up running off the road, sometimes with serious consequences, particularly on our higher speed roads.''
Forty percent of those surveyed rated their own driving ability as above average, while the same group considered 70% to be only average drivers. Nearly half rated aggressive and impatient drivers, and those using cellphones, as serious risks. Distracted drivers and speeding drivers were also a big concern.
However, collisions at intersections and high traffic volumes were considered the most serious risks.
Many drivers surveyed also considered road crashes and fatalities an inevitable risk of driving and were sceptical about measures seeking to change behaviour.
''The research highlighted that people do care about road safety, particularly if they have children in the vehicle with them or have experienced the loss of a loved one due to a motor-vehicle crash,'' Kathy says. ''We would like everyone to consider the impacts our behaviour on the road can have on others.''
No-one, she says, wants to look back and regret an act of poor driving that caused a death or injury.
