Pay attention and show consideration. Those are my key tips for safe festive season motoring as Drivesouth signs off for the year.
As well as staying safe, I hope readers will also take as many steps as possible to make the upcoming break a relaxing one in a motoring sense.
With this in mind, and even in the South, where traffic volumes are relatively light, this requires not only giving full attention to the serious job of driving, but also to embarking on any significant journey in the right frame of mind.
So allow plenty of time for journeys, avoid driving when tired (or to the point of tiredness), resist the use of mobile phones and other distracting hand-held devices while driving, and maintain a speed appropriate to the road and traffic conditions. And, if you can manage it, how about travelling at times when the roads are likely to be less busy?
Last and not least in terms of driving advice, for those who are towing or who prefer to drive at a sedate pace, please keep an eye on your mirrors, and pull over when you can to let other vehicles by. For those that are overtaking, please be super-sure that the road ahead is clear before making that pass, and also be considerate of those behind you who may be doing the same.
The summer break can also be a time for motoring-minded folk to seek out a new driving experience or two. It’s a challenge I’ve issued in previous festive seasons, to encourage readers to make the most of the South Island’s great motoring opportunities.
Travel down some roads you have never been on before, and even if your motoring involves familiar destinations, consider a different route. And if your vehicle has some off-road or soft-road capability, perhaps take advantage of that to explore a new trail or two.
Reflecting on the year that’s about to end, this has been an interesting 12 months in a motoring sense: electric car take-up has continued to rise at a rapid rate, and this has been reflected in the record number of pure electric and plug-in hybrids tested on these pages this year; global supply chain challenges have meant far longer waits than we are used to for the delivery of some popular new car models; sadly, but unsurprisingly given its flawed approaches, the national Road to Zero road safety initiative has failed to deliver its hope for results.
Motorsport has provided some grand memories with a Kiwi flavour: Brendon Hartley’s title success in world endurance racing for Toyota; Emma Gilmour’s exploits in Extreme E with McLaren; Shane van Gisbergen’s domination of the V8 Supercar scene in Holden’s swansong year; race success for Scott Dixon and Scott McLauchlan in Indycars, and for Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong in Formula 2; Hayden Paddon rallying various Hyundai cars with success at home and abroad; Rally New Zealand returning as a round of a WRC.
By the time Drivesouth resumes in the ODT in mid-January, the first of 2022’s motorsport memories will already being made; Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell plays host to round one of the international Toyota Racing Series (now called the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship) from January 13-15, and the second round is scheduled for Invercargill’s Teretonga circuit from January 20-22.
I’d like to sign off for the year by wishing readers all the best for an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. I deliver this wish not only on my own account, but on behalf of the whole Drivesouth team taking in the editorial crew, the ODT features production team, and of our hard-working advertising crew.
- David Thomson
