MEDIA RELEASE

Crash Stats Show Road Safety Issues

Last year, 117 New Zealanders aged 15 to 24 were killed on our roads, and alcohol was a factor in 31 percent of fatal crashes, according to statistics released today by the Ministry of Transport.

These figures are in the Ministry's publication Motor Vehicle Crashes in New Zealand 2008. Motor Vehicle Crashes collects information about the number and type of crashes on our roads and common factors involved, as well as crashes by local body area.

"Improving the safety of young people and reducing the level of drink driving are among the proposed priorities for our Safer Journeys strategy. We encourage people to contribute to the development of the strategy and help us set some actions for improving this," said Safety Manager, Leo Mortimer.

"Motor Vehicle Crashes shows that while we have made some progress in reducing the road toll, there are areas where we can do a lot better. The number of motorcyclists injured has more than doubled since 2001."

The Ministry is currently seeking the public's views on actions for improving road safety at www.saferjourneys.govt.nz as part of the development of a road safety strategy to 2020. Consultation closes on 2 October 2009.

Motor Vehicle Crashes in New Zealand 2008 is available here.
Submissions on the Safer Journeys discussion document can be made at www.saferjourneys.govt.nz.
Media contact: John Summers (04) 439 9086, 021 918 151

Sample Statistics
• The total number of Police reported road crashes last year was 39174. Of these 331 were fatal, 2098 were serious, 9218 were minor and 27527 were non injury crashes.
• Travelling too fast for the conditions was a factor in 34 percent of fatal crashes last year.
• Last year New Zealand had 8.6 road deaths per 100,000 population. In comparison, Australia recorded 7.3 in 2007.
Note: Further local body and regional statistics are available from the NZ Transport Agency.

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