July road deaths equal lowest on record

1 August 2002

July road deaths equal lowest on record

Deaths on New Zealand roads last month equaled the lowest level for any July since monthly recording began in 1965, the Land Transport Safety Authority said today.

Provisional figures show that 33 people died on the country's roads last month, matching the record lows recorded in July 2001 and July 1979. The worst July on record was 1989, when 72 people were killed.

Director of Land Transport Safety David Wright said winter weather had resulted in treacherous conditions in many areas last month, and people generally deserved credit for taking extra care and adjusting their driving to the conditions.

“It's encouraging that people seem to be exercising a bit more patience and taking care behind the wheel. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking this problem is solved. Even with the record low last month, we still averaged more than one person killed on this country's roads every day. All of those people have left behind grieving family and friends - for them and for the many others seriously injured in road crashes, July was a terrible month.

"We are making progress in reducing trauma, but there is still a huge amount of work to do. We need to keep looking at new ways of making our roads safer to prevent crashes, and drivers need to keep up their end of the bargain by staying sober, buckling up and keeping their speeds down."

Including the 33 people killed last month, there have been 253 road deaths so far this year, compared with 278 at the same time last year.

Road Deaths in New Zealand - January to July

January February March April May June July Total
1965 43 50 47 50 56 49 49 344
1966 35 34 32 35 61 55 51 303
1967 48 49 62 53 49 40 46 347
1968 42 31 40 54 49 42 45 303
1969 46 39 60 57 59 44 39 344
1970 57 57 61 73 77 39 49 413
1971 49 59 70 59 70 56 37 400
1972 51 62 70 57 66 53 56 415
1973 58 85 70 67 80 79 62 501
1974 48 46 69 51 69 74 44 401
1975 43 54 53 54 76 62 46 388
1976 47 47 43 51 57 70 49 364
1977 52 47 59 55 54 58 66 391
1978 52 42 67 47 67 67 46 388
1979 41 37 36 44 60 46 33 297
1980 43 58 47 51 41 49 36 325
1981 51 42 60 61 69 45 50 378
1982 52 61 62 60 60 61 51 407
1983 57 42 44 57 47 39 49 335
1984 44 52 67 70 73 60 41 407
1985 50 62 57 61 59 58 63 410
1986 57 66 80 54 47 68 63 435
1987 62 82 64 68 69 78 41 464
1988 58 69 56 67 72 48 64 434
1989 58 61 73 60 56 68 72 448
1990 54 60 62 71 62 64 55 428
1991 48 55 54 54 57 61 50 379
1992 39 49 64 65 47 53 45 362
1993 38 47 57 47 45 50 41 325
1994 44 31 66 36 45 45 53 320
1995 50 50 50 44 50 29 61 334
1996 31 38 51 35 43 58 38 294
1997 41 49 54 55 44 39 38 320
1998 43 38 52 35 38 40 41 287
1999 54 46 30 57 34 34 34 289
2000 28 34 46 51 40 37 35 271
2001 40 43 39 42 50 31 33 278
2002 34 40 39 26 41 40 33 253

Ends

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