27 Nov 2007

Road safety campaigners in the Cook Islands happy with tighter laws

4:00 pm on 27 November 2007

The Cook Islands Road Safety Council's chair welcomes new laws on the compulsory wearing of motorcycle helmets, the introduction of breathalysers, and a cut in speed levels.

Parliament has passed the Transport Amendment Act requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets from April next year, while police will be allowed to use breathalysers to test for drink-driving offences from mid December.

In addition, the speed limit was lowered from sixty to fifty kilometres per hour.

The changes are aimed reducing the number of fatal road accidents.

Don Silk, is happy about the changes and believes it will make a difference to the road safety.

"We have had quite a vigorous campaign for the last eighteen months, both on television and in the newspaper about drink driving among other things. I think it's a very satisfactory outcome. Hopefully it will mean there will be less drink-driving and less fatal accidents."

Don Silk hopes residents will comply with the new regulations.