Carnage on our roads

Worrying new crash statistics have emerged after a horror 24 hours on our roads last weekend, in which eight people died.

NZ Transport Agency figures show there were 159 fatal road crashes from January 1 this year to June 22, up from 142 in the same period last year.

The total road toll was 344, up from 329 this time last year.

The cost of treating those injured in road incidents has also soared.

ACC paid $435,802,640 last year for motor vehicle injury claims, up from $399,089,156 in 2015.

Associate Transport Minister Tim Macindoe said year-to-year road toll changes were complex, with many possible causes.

“[It] reinforces that we need to continue our focus on improving the safety of our roads, and educating road users about the need to stick to the laws in place for their safety.”

The Government spent billions of dollars a year on improvements such as median barriers, rumble strips and wide shoulders, as well as on road safety enforcement, advertising, and education campaigns, Macindoe said.

The Safer Roads and Roadsides programme announced last year allocates $600 million for safety improvements. More than 90 highrisk sites on rural state highways across 14 regions will undergo safety improvements.

AA general manager motoring affairs Mike Noon said: “The AA is really concerned because this is the fourth year we are seeing a rise in the road toll . . . because there is so much work being done on so many levels to make the road toll a lesser thing.”