Murph’s Law: Eliminate the Risk this Summer

For most of the year V8 Supercar ace, Greg Murphy can be seen hurtling around a race track at speeds most of us would never dream of tackling. When he’s away from the track he takes a much more conservative approach to driving.

Greg Murphy speaks to students at Upper Hutt College

Greg has a passion for road safety. It is something he wants everyone to take seriously, and as the summer holidays approach it is a message that people need to take on board.

“Over the summer months New Zealand roads are busier than ever with people wanting to make the most of the great weather. This means more people are travelling on roads that they are unfamiliar with and more tourists are sharing those roads that are experiencing New Zealand driving conditions for the first time.”

Greg believes that the pro-active approach the Government is taking toward road safety, through Safer Journeys, is a step in the right direction. “They raised heaps of good points and encouraged the public to get involved.” One of the main focuses of Safer Journeys is increasing the safety of young drivers. Murph says he never realised how bad the problem was, “New Zealand has the most road deaths amongst 15-17 year olds in the OECD. That makes us worse than Australia, the UK and America.”

“People need to take responsibility for their own actions and be accountable for what they do or fail to do behind the wheel” says Murphy. “Major causes of road deaths all have a common denominator, a lack of awareness of the driving environment”, says Murphy, and the risk factor is increased when the person behind the wheel is young and inexperienced. In 2009 Greg visited a number of secondary schools to tell young people what they can do to stay safe on the road.

A Hawke’s Bay native, he is particularly concerned with the number of preventable teenaged road deaths in the region and around the country. Recent figures out of Auckland, showing a 77% increase in the number of teenager drink-driving also shocked the V8 Supercar driver.“It’s unbelievable that the drink driving message is still not getting through. It is painful to see these numbers on the rise – there is no excuse for it.”

Greg also stresses that it is not all about the drive when it comes to driving safely, the vehicle being driven also needs to be up to the task. “Badly worn tyres are a pet peeve” he says, “the reality is, you can’t afford not to have road worthy tyres on your car, especially when you have long road trips planned.” “While I’m on the subject”, says Murph, “make sure that your car gets the repairs and maintenance that it needs. Get your car serviced before you hit the road this summer, and make sure it’s done by a trained professional. Mates might be able to do it cheaply, but it’s getting them done right that matters most.”

“The great kiwi road trip is a summer tradition. And if people can respect the roads, have patience for other road users and drive to the conditions, we can keep the road toll down and everyone can have a really happy Christmas.”