Mad rush to be home for Christmas
By Greg Hilson,WNS New Zealand Bureau Chief
AUCKLAND - Christmas may be a few days away, but from Friday thousands of people are expected to make their way home for the big day via train, plane, ferry and automobile. Both the Interislander and Bluebridge ferries are fully booked. Bluebridge alone is preparing to serve 1,000 pies, 2,500 coffee's and nearly 2,000 pottles of chips to hungry Christmas passengers. If you are going by plane, Air New Zealand says make sure you leave for the airport in plenty of time - they are going to be carrying over 70,000 people on over 1500 flights in just three days. Because flights are so full, the airline is begging passengers not to go over the luggage limit.
On the roads police expect the bulk of our three million cars to be on the road at some stage over the next three days. They are asking motorists to drive with their headlights on both day and night, to increase visibility. Motorists are also being asked to watch their speed and following distances and to make sure they are not being distracted by things like cellphones or animals in cars.
Police are further warning drivers not to use cellphones while behind the wheel, with an accident near Blenheim on Wednesday night thought to have been due to a cellphone distracted driver. The man escaped unhurt after his truck and trailer unit rolled onto its side, blocking both sides of State Highway One south of Blenheim, but it is thought the man may have been using his mobile phone, when he failed to take a corner. Constable Dan Mattison of the Blenheim police says they are a huge distraction for drivers and he wants people to avoid using them when in the car. The official holiday road toll period begins at 4pm Friday and runs right through until 6am on Wednesday January 3.
posted by wnsworld @ 5:29 PM
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