The AA has joined The Dog & Lemon Guide, St John, Plunket Society and Consumer New Zealand in calling for the wider use of reversing cameras as a means of reducing driveway deaths.
Reversing cameras show the driver what’s behind the vehicle using a small video screen on the car’s dashboard. They are an expensive option […]
St John has joined the growing body of safety groups calling for the wider use of reversing cameras as a means of reducing driveway deaths.
Jaimes Wood, chief executive of St John, says:
“All-too-often we are called to tragedies involving children hit by reversing cars. We support any moves that will result in a reduction of needless […]
The Dog & Lemon Guide, Plunket Society and Consumer New Zealand are calling for the wider use of reversing cameras as a means of reducing driveway deaths.
Reversing cameras, which show the driver what’s behind the vehicle using a small video screen on the car’s dashboard, are an expensive option on many new vehicles but are […]
The government ignored major overseas studies showing that motorists tend to ignore cellphone bans. Recent studies have confirmed that the cellphone ban is now also being widely ignored in New Zealand.
The government also ignored various major studies showing that fines don’t deter the highest risk groups on the road.
Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson […]
Adults who knowingly supply alcohol to underage drinkers should be heavily penalised if those underage drinkers cause serious harm while drunk, according to a leading road safety campaigner.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, was commenting after the government announced that it is considering making it unlawful for adults to give […]
All major roads in New Zealand should have regular ‘keep left’ signs in multiple languages, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Tourists regularly have serious accidents because they get confused over which side of the road to drive on. The obvious thing to do is to remind them regularly in […]
Claims by the police that new rules have lowered the road toll are probably wishful thinking, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Aside from the ban on using cellphones while driving, which is widely ignored, the police aren’t really doing anything they weren’t doing before.”
“ A more plausible explanation is that […]
Motorists should stay off the road around New Year’s Day, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“The Christmas period, including New Year’s Day, is always a high accident period. This year New Year’s Day falls on a full moon. Assuming that the studies linking antisocial behaviour and the full moon […]
All vehicles on the road should have their lights on over Christmas, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“A car with its headlights on is easier to spot than a car with its headlights off. It’s that simple.”
Matthew-Wilson pointed to World Health Organisation statistics showing that vehicles using daytime running lights […]
The government needs to empower Maori communities to educate and train their own people to safely operate cars, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Maori are a small percentage of the population but a large percentage of the road toll. The current driver’s licence system was designed by and for average […]
Tradesmen are treated as second-class citizens as far as road safety is concerned, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson was commenting after Chinese-made Great Wall utes were shown to be very unsafe in Australian crashtests.
“These Great Wall utes meet Australian Design Rules, which means it’s legal to sell them throughout Australia […]
The government’s ‘Safer Journeys’ discussion document, which seeks public consultation on road safety issues, is mainly a repeat of the failed policies of the past, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says the document focuses mainly on changing driver behaviour, while missing out on proven road safety strategies.
“Most scientific studies show […]
Fines and disqualification often have little effect on driver behaviour, and may make a bad situation worse, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Matthew-Wilson was commenting after unpaid fines reached $800 million for the first time.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says fines work as a deterrent for middle-class people with reasonable incomes. However, they are […]
The government’s cellphone ban won’t work unless it actually changes driver behavior, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson – whose road safety research was awarded by the Australian Police Journal – points to overseas research showing that teenagers, who are the most vulnerable road users – tend to ignore cellphone bans.
A […]
The government’s proposed cellphone ban may have little effect on the road toll says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson – whose road safety research was awarded by the Australian Police Journal – points to overseas research showing that teenagers, who are the most vulnerable road users – tend to ignore cellphone […]
The first Chinese-made vehicles to arrive in Australasia have been savaged in a review by the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, which describes them as: “a clumsy and unsafe copy of several existing Japanese vehicles.”The review slams the Great Wall SA220 and V240 utes on virtually all fronts, including appearance, safety, performance, fuel economy […]
Proposals to make owners of older, less safe, cars pay more in ACC levies than those in newer, safer, cars, will simply penalise the poor, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“Poor people buy old cars because they have little money. Penalising poor people for having little money is something that […]
The New Zealand government should follow the lead of Australia and require Electronic Stability Control on all new passenger cars and SUVs, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“The evidence is quite clear: Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is the biggest lifesaver since the airbag.”
ESC uses computers to detect when a driver […]
The police should have the power to temporarily seize cellphones being used by drivers while a car is in motion, says a leading road safety expert.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, says that simply banning cellphones won’t work because many users are prepared to risk a fine rather than miss […]
The Department of Labour should prosecute employers who make workers use unsafe vehicles, says the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:
“The law is quite clear: employers are required to provide a safe workplace and can be prosecuted if they don’t.”
“Legally, a motor vehicle is a workplace, yet the Department of Labour appears […]
