Road deaths reach a 10-year high
Nearly 400 lives were lost on New Zealand roads last year, making it the country’s worst annual road toll in a decade.
The 2018 toll rose to 380 on Monday night – passing the 378 of
2017 – after a man died when the vehicle he was in crashed down a
10m bank in the Coromandel. Eight people have died in crashes during the current holiday period, which runs from December 24 to January 3.
Police Minister Stuart Nash said last year’s toll was the worst since 2009, when 384 people were killed.
‘‘There are far too many families who are missing a loved one these holidays after road accidents this year. It is devastating to know that many of these deaths were preventable.
‘‘Although road deaths as a proportion of our population and in comparison to the number of cars on the road have halved in the past 20 years, we can do much better.
‘‘The main contributing factors are speed, failure to wear a seatbelt, distraction such as using a cellphone, and impairment from drugs, alcohol or fatigue,’’ Nash said.
The region with the largest share of fatalities was Waikato at
17 per cent, followed by Auckland and Canterbury with 14 per cent each, and Manawatu¯ /Whanganui on 12 per cent.
Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter said the road toll was equivalent in scale to a major airline crash. ‘‘The Government is investing $1.4 billion over three years to make urgent safety improvements across our high-risk roads. On high-volume state highways . . . expect saving median and side barriers and crash-preventing rumble strips.’’
The AA is urging motorists to think about their own behaviour on the roads. ‘‘A study by the AA Research Foundation found that about half of fatal crashes involved extreme and reckless behaviour but the other half tended to involve ordinary, everyday drivers who might make a mistake or a bad decision behind the wheel with tragic results,’’ road safety spokesman Dylan Thomsen said.
The road toll continues a tragic trend of more deaths and injuries from crashes since the record low year of 2013, when 253 people died.
The toll figure remains provisional and can be revised up or down following the investigation of each crash. Medical events were not counted in official figures, but deaths within 30 days of a crash were included.