Tonight on Close Up ` the Q and A on the top of the T ` we want your votes on the give-way law-change campaign. It went from an innocent trip to an instant tragedy ` how do we stop reckless attitudes on country roads? And AMI Stadium lives again ` the garden city's new home for the Crusaders. I reckon they're gonna talk about it after the game, that great atmosphere. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Richard Edmunds and Angela Alice. Close Up captions by Pippa Jefferies and Hugo Snell. Good evening. Safety is a theme tonight. How safe will you be on the roads come Sunday when the new give-way laws come into force? In other words, how confident are you that you understand them? We want to hear your opinion on this. A Close Up poll tonight if you're confident you do understand them. Text 'yes' to 8875 if you're confident you do understand them. Usual rules apply, and we'll have the results at the end of the show. The changes are supposed to improve road safety, but another area crying out for improvement are the appalling vehicle-accident statistics on our farms. A thousand kids were injured by farm machinery or vehicles over the past five years. The fear is the 'she'll be right' attitude is putting kids at risk. That's something Jules and Peter Wallace have had to contemplate after Sophia, their granddaughter (10), was killed after falling off a farm ute. The ute was being driven by her best friend's dad. The Wallaces have supported the driver. Today at court he was sentenced to 150 hours' community service, but Jules and Peter want to see change, change that could save young lives. They talked to Abby Scott. There's no words to explain how you feel when this sort of thing happens. FORLORN MUSIC When I got there, it was just there were so many people, so many police, and I just knew. And Pete came to the crossroad,... and he said to me, 'Sweetie pie, she's gone.' And... And I was so... so just blown. Sophia Pendragon Wallace was 10 years old. This is where she died, right here. They came off the farm, that bit there. They were coming along, come up that bit there, and it's when he came up over that hump, that's when she went off the back. Sophia and her best friend were riding in the back of a ute, unrestrained. The vehicle was being driven by Sophia's friend's father, Raoul Sitters. Do you blame Raoul? I don't blame anybody, actually. Raoul made a mistake. A mistake that cost the Wallaces their granddaughter. How hard have the past 10 months been? Oh, I still can't get my life back together, cos you wake up every morning, and the first thing I think about is Sophia, and that's it. That just wrecks my whole day. Jules and Peter started caring for Sophia when she was just weeks old. Pete and I have had it pretty hard through our lives, so her coming to us and being given another chance to raise a child was just so very very special. She grew into a little girl who loved life and adventure. I looked out, and here she was up in this magnolia tree, right at the very top. This is Sophia's garden here. She was a real gardener. And those were her favourite flowers, pansies. She just loved pansies. We put this in not long after she died, and they have not stopped flowering since. The last time they saw her alive is etched in their memories. She just giggled at me, and she said, 'I love you, Nan,' and just gave me this big kiss on the cheek. She just yelled out from over there just before she got in the truck, waved out, um, 'Goodbye, Pop,' and that was it. Now the Wallaces want to make sure no one else has to say goodbye like they did. There is always a chance that they are going to wake up without a member of their family. It's an ugly thing experience, to go through every day, to wake up without her. For a long time, I just didn't even want to wake up. On the road, it's illegal for a driver to carry passengers in a way that may cause injury, such as unrestrained on the back of a ute, but on the farm... the Department of Labour only offers guidelines, which say children shouldn't ride on tractors, quad bikes or on the back of utes and they should always wear seat belts. The Wallaces say utes are no place for children and farmers need to change their casual attitude towards vehicles. This is savage what's happened to us, what's happened to Sophia's family. Do you think that some farmers feel they're above the law, that they've been doing it for so long, this is just what they do? It's just that 'she'll be right, mate' attitude, you know. 'We've been doing it for 50 years, and we'll just continue,' because it's part of their culture. You see farmers driving around now ` I saw one in town ` and he had his dogs tied because it's against the law to have a dog on the back that's not chained. That same farmer, I have seen him with his boys on the back of the truck, and they've been yahooing, and I've thought that's really weird. He puts more value on his dog than he does on his own children. To me, it wasn't an accident. It was a` It was... ...a tragic event that happened through a really bad decision. She shouldn't have been on the back of that ute. Some people might say, 'Look, you can't wrap your kids in cotton wool.' There's a difference between letting a child climb a tree and experiencing that than going, or being put on a vehicle. It's totally different. The Wallaces have supported Raoul Sitters throughout the court process and were there at sentencing today when he was given 150 hours' community service and disqualified from driving for six months. The families remain close friends, bound by the severe consequences of what happened. I can't go to the depth of my sorrow, because it would break my heart and I would just die, because that's how it is. That's truly how it is. (SOBS) He has his own sentence as we do. The loss of Sophia, for us, is a life sentence, really, because we can't ever bring her back. Joining me now live from Invercargill is Federated Farmers' health and safety spokesman David Rose. thanks for joining us. Do farmers have a casual attitude to safety? I don't think so, Mark. I'd like to say to the Wallaces that our hearts go out to them. when I travel on the back of the ute, I'm a rabbit shooting and bolting on a crate. if you saw a farmer driving with kids on the back, would you stop them? I haven't seen them. We need to improve on this. I worked on human factors in farming. It talks about things that would make a difference. That's the sort of thing that we should learn from. we don't want alone by the mistake that causes a child to lose their life.� the hundred and 41 also has recreational accidents in there. It's got motorbikes in there. With got to make a difference. this was from ACC. This includes kids hooning around on motocross bikes? it comes back to an attitude. Things are more casual. things were casual years ago. People have been identifying hazards on the farms. Farmers are practical people. They are into focusing on problems. is there a generational difference? Our younger farmers tougher on the roles? 10 of 15 deaths were 58 years or older. there are people over 80 that perhaps doing the things they always did. the Federated farmers will be giving a rark-up. Coming up ` road rules set to change ` are you confident you understand the new give-way law? And a sneak peek inside the new AMI Stadium ` we're with one of the Crusaders' stars before tomorrow night's big game. I reckon they're gonna talk about it after the game, that great atmosphere. Who gives way to whom changes early Sunday morning, and it seems some of us are up to speed with the new rules and some of us aren't. Changing them after 35 years is pretty major, so are you confident you understand the new road rules? If you are, text yes to 8875; if not, text no to 8875. We'll have the results at the end of the programme. And just so it's not all one-way traffic, we checked up on our own team today by asking some of them to sit the NZ Transport Agency's online give-way test. LAUGHTER I don't think you've got it, mate. Two. One and one. The blue car gives way. I reckon I could blitz this. I'm pretty confident. Well, I reckon, come Sunday, I'm going to do it tough. I think this will be a breeze. QUIRKY PIANO MUSIC Who gives way to who? Our first question. And I've got it wrong? Top of the T... ...goes before me. Top of the T... Who will have to give way? I think the blue car will have to give way. BUZZER BLARES I was wrong on the first one. <BLEEP>. BUZZER BLARES Oh. BUZZER BLARES (SIGHS) QUIRKY MUSIC CONTINUES I'm just gonna give way to everybody. The red car gives way. DING! I would give way to the truck. DING! I was` I was confident. Steven? Blue car gives way. BUZZER BLARES I'm gonna stick to cycling. Blue car. BUZZER BLARES BUZZER BLARES I'm a four-time loser. Next question. DING! All right. Red motorcycle. DING! Whoo-hoo! BUZZER BLARES LAUGHTER On Sunday, I think I'll stay in bed. I reckon on Sunday I should be pretty sweet. I'm really scared. It's not a minor change. There's some major things going on here. I'll just get a really big car, I think. And, yes, I did do the quiz. And if I was voting tonight, it would be, 'Yes, I'm confident.' But Dog and Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson believes many are unprepared for the changes because the pu blicity, he says, has been woeful. there is no extra police rostered on the day. People have learnt with one system, and it's changing. The average person has 3000 ads a day thrown at them. some people, particularly in poorer areas, have no idea that is changing. are some people unaware? some people are worried about it, so they're learning about it. some people are functionally illiterate. are you discriminating? It's a lack of education. do you believe the changes are hard to understand? it's hard for some people to get the heads around diagrams. I have great faith in ordinary New Zealanders. A certain percentage of people are not going to follow. how would you have done the campaign? since the World Cup, I would have done a countdown. do you think the poll tonight also at least half the people won't know what's happening? if he had a look at accidents in New Zealand, it seems to be the uneducated. it's the poor uneducated that won't know? people would have thrown out leaflet in the letterboxes. they needed ads on the back of buses and on billboards. Still to come ` we take a look inside the temporary home of Christchurch rugby before the Crusaders take on the Cheetahs. It wasn't just families and business operators who were dispossessed by the Canterbury quake. The Crusaders lost their home as well. The original AMI Stadium was stuffed. But that all changes tommorrow. Workers have been going around the clock to convert a rugby league ground into the new AMI Stadium. It was all done in a hundred days. So it's a big night tomorrow, especially for the Taylor family. Alexi O'Brien caught up with Canterbury legend Warwick, who's commentating, and his son Tom, who makes his starting debut. Now it's all hard hats and high-vis. Tomorrow it'll be red and black. Playing in front of friends and family is pretty nice for a change. Playing in front of friends and family is pretty nice for a change. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to that. In a new stadium that no doubt the Crusaders are hoping will be a fortress. This is a new start for the boys, and I hope they start it off on the right foot. First five Tom's right foot will be in the spotlight for the team's first home game since May 2010. This year having the stadium just makes things easier. Those travel days can get on top of you at times. Warrick knows travelling is tough. This is him saying goodbye to Tom in 1990 to travel to an away game. Now he's watching his son all grown-up. It's a pretty exciting time for me: it's a great stadium and being able to get my first starting debut at a ground like this. Exciting not just for Tom, but for Canterbury. This is rugby country, after all. # Red and black, make a stand. Show the rest you're the best in the land. # And the city's been feeling the lack of a home turf. This is at home. It's here. I think it's probably the first major event that I can think of for Christchurch itself. So it's a big time for them, for anyone in Christchurch. Even if they're not rugby supporters, 400 construction workers have been involved in the project, putting in 180,000 man hours to get the stadium done in time. We've really got to thank these construction workers for doing an absolutely amazing job. To be honest, I didn't think they'd have things ready for this game, and as you can hear they're still going for it, but it's going to be ready for the game, which is fantastic. Warwick Taylor knew the old AMI, or Lancaster Park, well. ARCHIVE: That's good play. And Warrick Taylor's going to score. And with a career spanning a hundred games for Canterbury and 40 for the All Blacks, he knows what makes a good stadium. This will be great. The people in these front rows ` it's going to be as if they're there, and the people at the back, even more so. Whereas at Lancaster Park, if you were at the back, you were looking down at ants running around the field. So I think that's going to be the major point here. I reckon they're going to talk about it after the game, that great atmosphere. The union was forced to find a new venue for the Crusaders when the old AMI Stadium and all four stands was damaged in the earthquakes. They've gone up, they've gone down, they've gone sideways, and they've tilted. These new stands come from stadia around the country, the turf from the old AMI. It's great having the bits of Carisbrooke and the bits of Eden Park here. You almost feel like the whole of NZ's on your side. Yeah, it is a bit of a mix, isn't it? We played in Mangatanoka earlier in the year, and this is the stand from there, so it's a bit of everything. It's pretty cool, I dunno. It's something different, isn't it? Yeah, I think you're right it is the whole of NZ. The whole of NZ has helped bring this back here. That's probably what it's been like for the past 18 months. The rest of NZ has really supported Canterbury and got us back up and running again, so this is the beginning of it. Brilliant. Warrick will have a close eye on his son tomorrow night. He's also commentating on the match for radio. It looks like we're going to be in the stands up there, outside, so it's going to make it interesting. Everyone can hear exactly what we're saying when we're watching the game. Let's hope Tom has a blinder so you're not going, 'Bloody Tom.' Yeah, better watch those words that I use when he does something right or wrong! But until then, he's just dad, giving his son some last minute advice. No, just enjoy it. I mean, look at that. Just have this atmosphere and enjoy it. Go, the Crusaders. Now to the results of tonight's poll. We asked, 'Are you confident you know the new road rules?' Well, the results are in, and 60% say, yes, they are confident about the new give-way rules. And 40% say no. Clive, are you surprised by that result? we heard from 2 1/2 thousand. It's like brakes that don't work. It's not very good. people simply don't know. police are saying it's going to be brochures, not tickets. Insurance companies are saying that the chilled about the thing. a lot of the accidents are going to occur in areas where people have poorer vehicles. will find out if your theory on the poor holds water. And that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.