North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Auckland road trauma rising, report shows
The number of fatalities and injuries on Auckland’s roads has risen by more than 50 per cent since 2012, a new report says.
An Auckland Transport (AT) road safety update report said death and serious injury associated with road incidents across Auckland had increased by 56 per cent since 2012.
Over the past four years road crashes in Auckland had a total social cost of $1.14 billion. Social costs include medical and legal costs, property damage, and loss of life and life quality.
The report identified 300 intersections in need of fixing however, current funding levels would only address two to three of these.
Roads in the Waitemata¯, Albert-Eden and MaungakiekieTa¯ maki areas were found to have significant rates of serious injury and death.
Roads with 50kmh speed limits were responsible for 75 per cent of incidents, averaging 13 crashes a day and causing about 39 minutes of disruption each.
Only a small percentage of crashes were the result of extreme behaviours, like drunk driving, while the majority were caused by ‘‘people making mistakes’’.
While the majority of crashes resulted from ‘people making mistakes’, the report identified population and economic growth, high vehicle ownership, low density and a sprawling city being key factors in the rise.
Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists were found to be most at risk, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of all incidents.
This comes at a time when the number of pedestrians killed on New Zealand roads has increased by 75 per cent this year.
However, when compared with 20 international cities,Auckland was performing below average for road deaths per capita.
AT walking cycling and road safety manager Kathryn King said increasing numbers of bike riders and walkers was one reason for the rise in incidents.
The complexity of Auckland’s roads also contributed, she said.
AT was identifying and prioritising high-risk routes and intersections for road safety investment and a draft safe roads strategy had been created, she said. Pedestrian safety was a leading concern, King said.
A programme to improve crossings was being developed for high-risk pedestrian areas, schools, town centres and public transport stops, she said.