ProActive Driver tutor Jonny Kirkpatrick makes sure Ashburton College Year 12 student Matty Cornish-Madden has the seatbelt in the right position for best safety. Photo Toni WIlliamsThe seatbelt is one of the most important safety features of a modern vehicle, says driver safety tutor Jonny Kirkpatrick.

But it’s only effective if it’s being used and being worn correctly; sitting across the shoulder/sternum and across the hips.

These are the strongest points of the body and will help reduce injury on the rest of the body in an accident, especially a high speed accident, of which the impact is violent

Mr Kirkpatrick, of ProActive Driver – a youth driver education trust – was one of six specialist tutors taking Ashburton College Year12 students through various aspects of road safety education during the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness programme at the Hotel Ashburton this week.

“Make it click, just like the ads say. It’s hands down the most important safety feature by a long shot,” he said. “You’re not helping yourself if you’re not wearing it.”

It is also less effective if it’s defective (with nicks or cuts) or twisted when worn; both ways reduce its strength by up to 50 per cent.

It’s meant to restrain you against the seat and keep you in the seat.

It won’t do that if it’s not full strength.

Mr Kirkpatrick spoke about the safety features of modern vehicles and the benefits of ANCAP safety ratings of four and above; the higher number the better and meant multiple airbags (eight to 12) covering driver and passengers.

There was also anti-lock braking systems (ABS brakes) to prevent the vehicle sliding or slipping, crumple zones in modern cars designed to take the impact of a crash, and autonomous emergency braking, electronic stability control and side intrusion bars.

“Insurance will buy a new car, but not a new you,” he said.

He also demonstrated – using the driving skills of Bob in a Suzuki Swift – the stopping distance of a vehicle driving at 30km/h and how when driving at double the speed, it quadrupled the stopping distance even with a full assortment of braking systems.

He said the function of vehicle safety features was primarily to protect drivers from having an accident, and secondarily to protect those in the vehicle during an accident.

© The Ashburton Courier -  7 August 2020

Josh Dunlea in action for the Combined side. Photo supplied.The table may say one win apiece, however there are contrasting tribulations this year for Timaru Boys’ High School and Mid Canterbury Combined.

The two sides meet in the UC Championship today, and while the South Cantabrians should be firm favourites at home, the mental toll on the side following a series of tough defeats against the big Christchurch schools could be a factor.

Mid Canterbury Combined however is a young team full of enterprise, despite being smacked around for the majority of the season.

They did notch a gutsy competition win a fortnight ago against fellow strugglers Roncalli-Aoraki Combined, however they were brought crashing back down to earth last weekend against St Thomas’.

Timaru meanwhile completed a resounding 50-20 hammering of Roncalli last weekend to end its losing streak.

They have endured a series of tough defeats to the competition big guns.

Against UC top five opposition, Timaru’s average losing margin has been little over eight points, earning losing bonus points against the likes of Christchurch Boys’, Rangiora and St Andrew’s.

Whether Mid Canterbury can compete up front today remains the big question, however they have proven it has the talent out wide when moving forward with Charlie Brown, Thomas Paterson and Sam Ree.

The critical period for the team will be after halftime, which will be dependent on the nature of the scoreboard and how much tackling it has been forced to do in the first spell.

If they can hang in the fight, then maybe the pressure goes back on Timaru Boys.

© The Ashburton Guardian -  7 August 2020

Thomas Patterson put in a solid shift for the Ashburton College side on Tuesday night. Photo supplied.Another loss might not look good on paper, but there’s plenty of pleasing progress for Ashburton College Boys’ basketball coach, Brian Kerr who knows his young charges are headed in the right direction.

On Tuesday night, the team took on Middleton Grange up in Christchurch and despite putting together a good performance on the court, they were unable to walk away with victory, losing the match 103-84.

Both sides took their time to work into the match, but it was Middleton Grange who drove harder and walked off the court and the end of the first quarter with a 25-21 lead.

If they were strong in the first, the hosts were even better in the second though as they really stepped up their workload and found gaps in the College defence to lead comfortably at 56-35 at the end of the first half.

A refocus and strong direction from Kerr at the half-time break saw an almost new-look College side jump on the court for the second half and they tightened their defence and got things back on track offensively.

A strong finish at the end of the third quarter saw the lead clawed back to 78-64 and the match was ripe for the picking for either side.

The previous week, College had really come into their own in the final quarter and for the first stages it looked like it was on the cards again with a 7-0 run.

A time out by the hosts changed the game though, stemming the College offensive flow and forcing some easy turnovers they took control again and rounded out the match impressively.

While beaten, College were far from disgraced.

Five players picked up double figure points hauls.

Kambell Stills continued his great form, picking up 19 points with some impressive dunks thrown in for good measure. James Reid was tidy with his 15 points.

As he has been all season Riley Sa was again right in the thick of it with 15 points of his own.

Kalen Tait produced probably his best performance of the season and drove hard to the basket and was dangerous on the fast break and Thomas Patterson turned in another good shift for 13 points.

Kerr said the College side were well aware of the Middleton Grange full court defensive options and worked hard to mitigate it.

For most part they handled it well,” Kerr said.

“Unfortunately it was their own defence that was ultimately the problem.

“They had a bad second quarter where their defence went flat which also impacted on their offence.

“Because of that, Gators offence found gaps and outscored College 31-14.”

Kerr added that he was proud of the fight his side showed and that when they maintained their composure they were definitely a match for Middleton Grange.

 © The Ashburton Guardian -  7 August 2020