Letter: A matter of life and death …

The writer’s home is located close enough by the Sheraton that most errands or travel requires driving past the hotel on the way, and again on the way back.

Perhaps just one observation, in response to what has now been more than one suggestion that the ‘extra’ driving time, where an emergency vehicle is concerned, might cause someone in need of such help to be delayed to their detriment.
With a bit of help from Google Earth and an on-line calculator, and if the speed limit around the ring road is set at 30kph, we can see that the diversion takes about 70 seconds. But of course an emergency vehicle will be doing at least twice such a posted limit, so we’ve got about 30 seconds ‘extra’.
Perhaps those who are of the view that 30 seconds might be a matter of life and death, instead of asking government to get involved in the ring road question, ask government in the first instance to tell us the average time it takes a 999 call to be answered. How about we get that fixed?

(Name and address supplied)