11 May 2011

The AA joined with government agencies today to launch the global Decade of Action for Road Safety.

New Zealand was the first country in the world to announce the start of this international 10-year road safety campaign being led by the United Nations and World Health Organisation.

Representatives from the AA, the Ministry of Transport, NZ Transport Agency, NZ Police, ACC and others working in road safety attended an event hosted by Transport Minister Steven Joyce at Parliament.

AA General Manager Motoring Affairs Mike Noon says the Decade of Action for Road Safety aims to dramatically reduce global road deaths and injuries.

“Currently, about 1.3 million people die around the world each year because of road traffic crashes. They cause more deaths than malaria and they are the number one cause of death for people aged 15 to 44 worldwide. The problem is expected to get worse, increasing to 1.9 million deaths annually by 2020 if changes to road safety are not made,” he says.

A growing global population and increasing vehicle ownership are behind the projections.

“If countries follow the World Health Organisation’s Decade of Action Global Plan, it’s estimated that 5 million lives and 50 million injuries could be saved over the next 10 years,” says Mr Noon.

“In New Zealand, nearly 400 people died on our roads last year and around 14,000 were injured. That’s a lot of people for a small country.

“When someone dies or is seriously injured in a road crash, it is always unexpected and it doesn’t only affect the person involved. It has wide impacts for family and friends.

“We know a lot about how to prevent crashes and reduce the seriousness of injures people suffer when they crash, so it only makes sense that we use this knowledge.”

The AA has become involved in the Decade of Action campaign as a member of the Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA), which was active in the call to the United Nations.

Mr Noon says the AA is pleased to be working with government agencies to make sure New Zealand benefits from the recommendations in the Decade of Action Global Plan.

New Zealand will be using its own road safety strategy Safer Journeys to act on many of the recommendations in the Decade of Action Global Plan.

Mr Noon says the AA will be monitoring New Zealand’s progress and has also established the AA Research Foundation which will contribute to research into road safety issues.

Initial projects include research into low-cost changes that can be made to road markings, signage and other environmental features to better understand what is most effective in making drivers take more care on dangerous sections of road.

The AA Research Foundation, with co-funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), is also commissioning research into the benefits of teaching people fuel-efficient driving techniques because evidence seems to show that fuel-efficient drivers are also safer drivers.

More information and links to international websites can be found on:

• www.aa.co.nz/decadeofaction
• www.saferjourneys.govt.nz

ENDS

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