Road safety a priority to Tonga Police Featured
22 July 2022. With its mission to keep our communities safe and protected, Tonga Police has set three goals to focus on for the next 4 years – Safe Homes, Safe Roads, and Safe Communities.
Most of the unnatural deaths in Tonga come from our roads.
In 2021, we lost 6 lives on our roads.
So far this year, in 2022, we have lost 4 lives. Tonga Police is committed to making our roads safer for all.
That means identifying the factors and conditions that contribute to the greatest harm and setting operational priorities that directly address those.
We target to address high risk driving behaviours, including speeding, impaired driving from alcohol or drugs, not wearing seatbelts, high risk driving, and distracted driving, which include those that use a mobile phone while driving.
Our statistics show an average of 252 traffic violations that Police dealt with a week.
35% of those violations are caused by high risk driving behaviours.
Drivers are advised:
• Respect other drivers and road users.
• If you are intoxicated, use a sober driver to drive you home.
• Restrain from overtaking at intersections and on the wrong side of the road.
• Comply with traffic signs.
“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” Road Safety Manager Lemoto Piliu reminds. “Let’s work together to maintain safety on our roads and prevent any further harm or unnecessary loss of life.”
