380 lives lost on NZ roads

A total of 380 lives have been lost on New Zealand roads during 2018.

The provisional road toll is slightly higher than last year with 378 deaths recorded in 2017.

The annual figure remains provisional and can be revised upwards or downwards following investigation of the circumstances of each accident. A medical event is not counted in official figures, but a death within 30 days of an accident would be included.

Within the road toll eight people have also died as part of the holiday road toll.

The official holiday period started on Christmas Eve and runs to 6am on Thursday.

Ministry of Transport figures show that last year's holiday period claimed the lives of 12 people, 90 people were seriously injured and 379 people suffered minor injuries.

The first fatal crash to have happened in the current holiday road toll involved a car which went off a bridge and into the Whanganui River on Christmas morning.

Police say the car went off the Victoria Avenue Bridge near Anzac Parade at around 12:21am.

They also confirmed one man was found dead inside the four-wheel drive.

It's understood the man was the only person inside.

A fatal crash also happened in Palmerston North on Friday December 28.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Railway Road and Roberts Line in Milson at 12.35pm.

Police say one person died at the scene.

Later that week a 72-year-old woman was charged with careless driving causing death following a fatal crash that happened near Wellington on Saturday December 29.

Early indications have suggested fatigue played a major role in the crash.

A 25 year old Wellington man was killed in the crash when the motorcycle he was riding north on State Highway 1, Wellington, was struck by a motorcar travelling south in the northbound lanes of SH1 near Johnsonville.

Later that day police also responded to a fatal crash in Mayfield, Marlborough District on Saturday December 29 at about 12.55am where a man died after crashing into a river at a camp ground on Grove Road.

The next day an 84-year-old died in a crash in Parnell, Auckland.

A police media spokesperson says the man died on Saturday December 30 in a single-vehicle crash on Tamaki Drive.

He was taken to Auckland Hospital where he died several hours later.

A passenger was also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Further south, another person died following a serious crash on Monday at State Highway 1 near Waihola, Dunedin.

A fatal crash involving a tractor on Clevedon Road in Ardmore then claimed another life later that evening.

One man also died in a crash in Colville, Thames-Coromandel District when the vehicle he was driving left Port Jackson Road and crashed into the rocks below.

Another person received critical injuries and two other passengers were seriously injured.

The road toll has probed the Government to stress its commitment to creating safer roads across the country.

'380 people were killed on our roads in 2018. It is staggering and unnecessary loss of life - equivalent in scale to a major airline crash,” says Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter

'It is yet another reminder of the need to make substantial improvements to road safety in New Zealand.

'Today, my thoughts are with the families, friends and communities of the 380 people who lost their lives 2018.

'I also want to recognise the efforts of all our emergency responders who witness first-hand the trauma on our roads. We know this is having an impact on you and your families and we want to thank you for your service.

'Many deaths and serious injuries on our roads are preventable. This Government is committed to reducing deaths and serious injuries through new thinking, more funding and prioritised action.

'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 New Zealanders can expect to see more improvements like life-saving median and side barriers and crash-preventing rumble strips.

'This year we will be consulting the public on a new road safety strategy and action plan to drive substantial improvements in road safety in New Zealand.”

Police Minister Stuart Nash has extended his sympathies to the families and friends of the 380 people who died in light of the figures.

'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,” he says.

'Although road deaths as a proportion of our population and in comparison to the number of cars on the road has halved in the past twenty years, we can do much better.

"We can work together to reduce the number of deaths. The main contributing factors are speed, failure to wear a seatbelt, distraction such as using a cellphone, and impairment from drugs, alcohol, or fatigue.

'Police enforcement and visibility on our roads also needs investment. We have increased the number of frontline Police officers, including dedicated road policing teams.

"When we took office we were short of 111 dedicated road policing officers. By July 2018, all of those vacancies were filled. Police now have 1070 dedicated road policing staff. All other frontline Police are also expected to enforce road safety laws.

'Police remain out on the roads working hard to keep everyone safe. But they can't do it alone – we all need to be responsible every time we get behind the wheel.

'The summer holidays are not over, and I encourage everyone to remain patient, courteous, and pay attention behind the wheel to ensure you and your loved ones get where you're going safe and well,” he says.

The provisional road toll figures show fatalities are made up of the following demographics:

· 49 per cent were the driver of the vehicle and 24 per cent were passengers

· 14 per cent were motorbike riders or pillion passengers

· 11 per cent were pedestrians

· Just over one per cent were cyclists

· 66 per cent were male and 34 per cent were female

· 28 per cent were in the sixty-plus age group

· 14 per cent were children or teenagers

· 13 per cent were aged between 20 and 24 years

· 48 per cent died in crashes on the open road on state highways

· 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/Wanganui on 12 per cent

More information is on the Ministry of Transport website.

-Additional reporting RNZ

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1 comment

Interesting

Posted on 01-01-2019 21:17 | By Slim Shady

So the majority are old blokes? Arrogant, they know best. Nobody tells them how to drive. Cheerio.


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