Skip to main content

New Zealand government wants fewer road deaths

The government of New Zealand is developing a plan aimed at reducing 750 deaths and 5,600 serious injuries expected on its roads over the next ten years. Anne Genter, associate transport minister, says: “Most roads deaths and serious injuries are preventable and too many New Zealanders have lost their lives or been seriously injured in crashes that could have been prevented by road safety upgrades.” Genter believes the new target can be achieved mainly by increasing investment in road safety infrastr
July 25, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The government of New Zealand is developing a plan aimed at reducing 750 deaths and 5,600 serious injuries expected on its roads over the next ten years.

Anne Genter, associate transport minister, says: “Most roads deaths and serious injuries are preventable and too many New Zealanders have lost their lives or been seriously injured in crashes that could have been prevented by road safety upgrades.”

Genter believes the new target can be achieved mainly by increasing investment in road safety infrastructure over the next decade.

“Already this Government is investing a record $1.4 billion over three years to upgrade over 3,300km of our most dangerous roads,” she continues. “This plan proposes greater investment in proven safety upgrades like median barriers, roundabouts and safe cycling infrastructure.”

As part of this ambition, the New Zealand government intends to reduce annual deaths and serious injuries by 40% by 2030.

It is also investing in new programmes targeted at helping younger drivers get their licence and develop safe driving skills.

These proposals are seeking to:

•    make it easier for local government to review speed limits
•    improve the safety of vehicles entering the fleet
•    include a new focus on work-related road safety
•    prioritise road policing to tackle high risk behaviours
•    improve the safety of footpaths and cycleways.

UTC

Related Content

  • May 14, 2024
    Safety measures can cut road deaths – and here’s the proof
    Johns Hopkins report using iRAP methodology shows 700,000 fatalities prevented
  • November 3, 2015
    New Zealand’s first weather-activated road signs go live
    New Zealand’s first weather-activated road signs with adjustable speed limits have gone live on State Highway 29 over the Kaimai Range. The 22 high-tech signs are part of an innovative NZ Transport Agency trial that aims to reduce the crash rate on the steep road, which links the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. The variable speed signs, along with four web cameras, will be linked to a weather station at the summit of the Kaimai Range. The Transport Agency will monitor the weather station and adjust the
  • September 4, 2018
    ASECAP examines tolling’s trials, tribulations and triumphs
    If you want to get up to speed on the main issues facing the transport sector and tolling companies, ASECAP Study Days event in Ljubljana was a good place to start. Colin Sowman reports (Photographs: Louis David). Increasing populations, ever-higher technical and safety requirements, and electric and hybrid vehicles will provide both challenges and opportunities for tolling companies. The annual Study Days event organised by ASECAP (the European association for tolling companies) examined all of these aspec
  • October 3, 2014
    New South Wales removes speed cameras
    New South Wales Minister for Roads and Freight, Duncan Gay, has announced that speed cameras in ten locations across NSW are to be removed as soon as any safety works such as additional signage, barriers and markings and that work has been finished. Gay said in a statement that the government is keeping to a statement that it made while in opposition, and removing any speed cameras that did not add a proven safety benefit. The 2014 Speed Camera Review of the state’s cameras indicates that early result