Road policing has been a major focus for police locally over the past week with incidents involving speeding, drink driving and driving inappropriately for the conditions.

One tourist was apprehended driving at a speed of 179kph and a second tourist who underwent breath testing blew 956 micrograms of alcohol per litre (mcg), close to four times the legal limit. 

They were two of “many” road-related incidents in the past week, Wānaka Police Senior Sergeant Fiona (Fi) Roberts said. 

“People are being stupid on our roads.” 

On Tuesday (July 16) police “were actively trying to prevent further incidents patrolling Cardrona Valley and Crown Range with red and blue lights trying to slow traffic down” after the de-icing agent which had been sprayed on the road was washed away in rain, which went on to freeze.

“People need to slow down,” Fi said. “Drive to the conditions – it is winter and this is an alpine environment.”

Drivers should expect freezing fog (which occurs when mist or fog freezes instantly on exposed surfaces in temperatures under zero) and black ice (a thin coating of clear ice on a road’s surface) which is “practically invisible to drivers”.

They should also watch out for bridges, which often maintain black ice for longer, and rural roads, where ice can wear away more slowly because they have less traffic.

“Stopping distances can increase in the wet, ice, and snow,” Fi said. “This means you need more time to react, so make sure you slow down in bad weather and watch your following distances.”

Combining speeding or drinking with the current conditions is “like playing Russian Roulette”.

Last week Wānaka Police arrested and charged a man for cultivating cannabis. 

It shows that “these things don’t just fly under the radar,” Fi said. 

Fi said there was also an ongoing issue with people getting scammed after trying to buy firewood via Facebook Marketplace. 

She said Wānaka Police are regularly receiving reports of people paying for firewood but not receiving it.

“When the buyer tries to contact the person who they made the payment to, they are disappointed to find that either the Facebook account of the ‘seller’ has disappeared, or they’ve been blocked, or their messages are ignored,” she said.

Operation Hannah also kicked off in the last week.

It is a multi-site operation targeting vehicles in and around ski fields including passenger services vehicles, the Impairment Prevention Team, and the Commercial Vehicle Unit. 

Fi highlighted Street Smart, a driver education programme targeting younger drivers to develop skills, knowledge and experience to make better decisions on the roads. 

Otago Lakes Central area road policing manager Senior Sergeant Steve Watt “is fully behind the initiative supporting the great work by road safety advocates Greg Murphy and Tony Quinn of the Tony Quinn Foundation and Street Smart.”

The programme is being run out of Highlands Motorsport Park and involves a young person and their support person being put through their paces over a day-long programme, Fi said.

Learn more about it here.

Call 111 when you need an emergency response from police, fire or ambulance.

Call 105 to report things that don’t need urgent police assistance.

Call *555 to report road incidents that are urgent but not life-threatening.

To make an anonymous crime report contact Crime Stoppers.

PHOTO: Wānaka App