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Police will be operating checkpoints at key points throughout New Zealand this Easter weekend including north Rodney’s popular holiday destinations.
It is part of a national crackdown to ensure that New Zealanders are not travelling for holidays during the quarantine.
Waitemata district commander Superintendent Naila Hassan is asking local residents not to travel unless they have to.
“The community can expect to see police visible at holiday spots north of Auckland and on arterial routes leading to them,” Superintendent Hassan says.
“For obvious operational reasons we are unable to provide information about specific locations.”
She says travelling to a bach or holiday home is not considered essential travel.
Yesterday (April 7), Police arrested a motorcyclist in Warkworth who had come from Auckland after a pursuit involving five police cars and a helicopter. He had fled police after they attempted to pull him over in Orewa.
“The alleged offender drove dangerously and at high speed towards Warkworth where police vehicles stopped pursuing and the motorcycle was monitored overhead by the Eagle helicopter,” police say.
“The offender abandoned his motorcycle near Hepburn Creek Road and was located by police a short time later, hiding in a driveway, where he was arrested.”
He will appear in the North Shore District Court to face multiple driving-related charges.
As of today, there have been 367 breaches of the Civil Defence Emergency Act or the Health Act nationally. This includes 45 prosecutions, 309 warnings and 13 youth referrals.
National manager for road policing Gini Welch is also reminding drivers that despite there being fewer cars on the road, they shouldn’t treat the road like a race track.
“Since March 21, 12 people have died on the road, eight during Alert Level 4 restrictions,” she says.
“There has been a 75 per cent decrease in traffic in most places across New Zealand, yet we are still seeing people die on the roads.”
The NZTA is also cautioning northern drivers to take care as predicted rain could make roads slippery over the weekend.
Northland system manager Jacqui Hori-Hault says if anyone does need to travel for essential services or supplies they need to take extra care.
“The hot dry summer has left the ground dried out and hard as concrete, so heavy rainfall is likely to run off and may cause surface flooding in some areas.”
She says road crews will be out making sure the state highway network is open and safe for those who need to travel.
