Toll up for vulnerable road users

''Many of these tragedies are completely avoidable.'' National manager of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally

Carla Neems was killed after being hit by a rubbish truck while walking home from school last week.

The 6-year-old Gisborne Central School pupil, with the ‘‘cheeky smile and wicked sense of humour’’, is one of 15 pedestrians to be killed on our roads so far this year. The pedestrian road toll is more than double what it was during the same period last year, when eight pedestrians were killed. Meanwhile, seven cyclists have been killed so far in 2017, compared with two during the same period last year.

In March, Japanese cyclist Mitsuaki Inagaki was killed after being hit by a truck near Twizel.

Inagaki and a 62-year-old English cyclist were hit by the truck just south of the Mt Cook turn off on State Highway 8 on March 15.

He was one of 29 riders participating in a 1200-kilometre Tiki Tour ride around the South Island.

While the number of motorcyclists killed so far this year (14) was down compared with the same period last year (17), motorbike riders were still overrepresented in road death statistics.

In April, Taupo man Logan Griffith became one of those 14, after his motorcycle crashed northwest of Napier. Police believe the 33-year-old father’s motorbike left the road and hit a fence near the Te Haroto summit on the afternoon of April 27.

With a rising number of vulnerable road users being killed in crashes, police are encouraging drivers to slow down and be mindful of other road users.

National manager of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally said road users needed to keep road safety at the forefront of their minds ‘‘every day of every week’’.

‘‘This is particularly important as the number of road deaths for the year tragically already stands at 132 – 12 higher that at the same time last year.’’

At that rate, on average there will be close to another 250 people who die and countless more who would be injured by the time the year ended if things didn’t change, he said.

‘‘But it doesn’t have to be this way – we can all do something about it.’’

Simple things like fastening seatbelts, putting away mobile phones, slowing down a few kilometres, and increasing following distances could make all the difference between life or death when a mistake happened, Greally said.

The fact that 15 pedestrians – seven more than last year – and seven cyclists – compared with two last year – had died as of the first week of May compared with the same time last year, was a ‘‘worrying aspect’’ of the road toll.

‘‘The unfortunate thing is that we know so many of these tragedies are completely avoidable.

‘‘While all of us are human and mistakes will happen, they should not be at the expense of ourselves or others being killed or injured,’’ he said.

Drivers should be looking out for children, who may not be looking for them.

And anyone passing a cyclist should leave 1.5 metres of space between the vehicle and the bike.

‘‘You can’t control the behaviour of other road users, but you can control your own.’’

This week is United Nations Road Safety Week.