Media Releases



  • Road safety ads a waste of time

    The government’s new advertising campaign – aimed at improving the poor safety record of teenage drivers – is an expensive waste of money, according to a leading road safety expert.

    Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car review website dogandlemon.com, says:

    The best scientific evidence suggests that road safety advertising campaigns don’t work at all.

    The highly respected American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently surveyed 20 years of road safety education campaigns and concluded:

  • Speed camera proposal ‘misguided’

    A proposal to increase the number of speed cameras and issue demerit points in place of fines is misguided, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

    Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

    “However much the government tries to massage the figures, the reality is that most fatalities occur at speeds below the legal limit. Therefore, to make a big song and dance about drivers who break the legal speed limit is simply a distraction from far more serious issues.”

  • Fuel economy figures ‘wildly inaccurate’

    Fuel consumption figures quoted by the government are often both inaccurate and unreliable, says the car review website dogandlemon.com. Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

    “Our actual road tests show that it’s rare to find a vehicle where the claimed fuel consumption figures match reality.”

  • Government roading plans "insane"

    Increasing spending on roading projects during a global oil crisis is like attempting to put out a fire with petrol, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.

    Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said today:

    “All the experts agree: the cheap oil is gone and isn’t coming back, yet our government is acting as if nothing has changed.”

    The Government intends to increase spending on new state highways but cut or freeze funding for alternatives like rail or public transport. 1

  • Time to prepare for oil crisis

    The government needs to prepare for sudden, severe and ongoing oil shortages, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.

    Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

    “For the last 100 years our world has run on cheap oil. This cheap oil is running out fast, yet most governments are largely ignoring this fact.”

  • BMW limousine purchase “appalling value for money”

     

    Claims by the prime minister that the purchase of 34 new BMW luxury limousines is a good deal for the taxpayer are laughable, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.

    Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says the government could have saved millions by simply buying mainstream models for the majority of the ministerial vehicle fleet.

    “Ministers used to ride around in mainstream Australian cars, and did just fine.”

  • Call to make reversing cameras compulsory

    Every car and truck should be required to have a reversing camera, says a leading road safety expert.

    Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, says that it’s not good enough to simply blame bad driving for the road toll.

    Matthew-Wilson was commenting after the latest toddler death caused by a reversing car.

  • Safety expert explains how to lower the road toll

    One of the country’s leading road safety experts has outlined what he calls the ‘nine essential steps’ for lowering the road toll.

    Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, says that it’s not good enough to simply blame bad driving for the road toll.

    “The country’s transport system needs to be set up so that it’s easy to do the right thing and hard to do the wrong thing.”

    Matthew-Wilson gave the example of the Auckland harbour bridge, which used to suffer one serious road accident every week.

  • Headlights on to survive Christmas

    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 have a crash rate 10-15% lower than those that do not.

  • Massive opposition to government data charges

    Many leading consumer and business groups have joined forces to oppose government charges for vehicle registration data. This information is currently provided free to many users.

    The Dog & Lemon Guide, Consumer New Zealand, the Association of Market Research Organisations and the Sustainable Business Network have joined a number of major motor industry groups in opposing the proposed charges. This group includes Repco, Turners Auctions, multiple insurance companies, finance companies and automotive computer companies.

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