"Do you really even need to be driving late at night when it’s -3degC and the roads are icy?"
That is the question Senior Constable Peter Scott wants motorists to ask themselves, after a recent spate of crashes in the Waitaki Valley.
During last week’s cold snap, Snr Const Scott, of Kurow, and Senior Constable Nayland Smith, of Omarama, attended six serious injury crashes, half of which involved drink-driving.
The three crashes in which alcohol was a contributing factor were ‘‘completely avoidable’’ if the drivers had walked home, or got a ride, instead of getting behind the wheel, Snr Const Smith said.
The drivers’ blood-alcohol levels were ‘‘considerably’’ over the legal limit and they would be facing charges, Snr Const Scott said.
‘‘Without ambulance, fire and, in several cases, helicopter paramedics, there would have been fatalities,’’ Snr Const Scott said.
Black ice was a factor in some of last week’s crashes, and some drivers had been travelling long distances late at night.
‘‘There were some poor decisions by people, as to whether they needed to be driving at that time of night,’’ Snr Const Scott said.
