Roads ‘battle zones’

Police described New Zealand’s roads as becoming ‘‘battle zones’’, predicting 60 more people will die on the roads this year.

So far in 2017, 293 people have died on our roads, compared with 251 at the same in 2016 – which was then the deadliest year on New Zealand roads in at least five years.

In the last 12 hours, two cars crashed on State Highway 6 north of Winton, Southland, late on Sunday, killing three people.

One person died after three people were trapped in a stolen car that hit a tree on Bairds Rd,O¯tara, South Auckland; and one person died and another was critically hurt in a serious crash in Motueka, Tasman.

It was later confirmed the driver of the stolen car died, while his two female passengers were injured, one seriously.

A man died after his car crashed in the carpark of North Shore hospital in Auckland, however, it was still not known whether his death was a medical event.

Three people also died in two crashes on the Waikato district’s highways over the weekend, in a two-car crash on State Highway 3 near Lees Block Rd on Sunday, and when a BMW collided with a Linfox truck and trailer unit on the Waikato Expressway at Tamahere on Saturday.

So far this year, with Labour weekend and the Christmas break still looming, there have been more deaths than all of 2013.

‘‘If we can get under 350 this year, I would take that as some sort of victory,’’ road policing national manager Superintendent Steve Greally said.

‘‘Although it is a gutting one because one death is too many. It is feasible to stop at 290 this year.’’

Greally, clearly upset with the rising toll, argued police were doing all they legally could to get the toll down.

‘‘The last four years have been particularly gruesome – a battle zone [on the roads].’’

But some speed limits, especially on rural roads, were simply too high.

He pointed to one 100kmh road in Peka Peka, south of Otaki, where it was all but impossible to safely reach 100kmh then slow down in time.

Roads like this were dotted around New Zealand, and while there was work under way by NZTA to improve them, or drop speed limits, people needed to drive to the road – not the limit.

Laws banning cell phones while driving were being ‘‘absolutely flouted’’, even if only four or five per cent of people who crashed later admitted to using a phone when they crashed.

‘‘When we have a fatal and put in an in-depth investigation, we find a lot more people are using their phones.’’

According to Ministry of Transport figures, road deaths dropped by an average of 10.4 per year between 2000 and 2010.

In 2013, when 253 people died, New Zealand recorded the lowest road toll since 1950, when there were eight-times fewer cars in the country.

According to an analysis by NZ Initiative researcher Sam Warburton, the chance of a car occupant dying on the road was 41 per cent higher than it was in 2013, and 12 per cent higher than last year.

Though the road toll was variable year to year, a statistical test showed recent increases were not due to natural variation.

‘‘Apart from 2016 where it was flat, the rate of deaths relative to kilometres driven on our roads has been steadily increasing since 2013.’’

Because he had adjusted the figure to account for kilometres driven, it could not be due to people driving more often.