“It’s an unconscionable waste of human potential, of love and of energy”
Michelle Yeoh, spokesperson for “Make Roads Safe Campaign”, speech to United Nations General Assembley, March 2010.
Every year, nearly 400 New Zealanders are killed in accidents involving motor vehicles, and thousands more are injured[1], sometimes causing permament damage both physical and mentall. These accidents have an enormous cost, social as well as economic, to individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole. Such losses may be due to lost productivity as a result of death and incapacitation, damage to property, legal costs, trauma, and the provision of both immediate and long term healthcare. In total it is estimated that vehicle accidents cost the New Zealand economy up to $4 billion each year, or between 3 and 5 percent of total GDP[2]. While New Zealand has been successful in dramatically reducing its roadtoll over the past 30 years, it still has a relatively high rate of fatal road accidents compared with other OECD countries[3]. Further reductions in the incidence of vehicle accidents, and the number of preventable deaths that these cause, is a high priority of the New Zealand Government[4] This study therefore aims to review current transport policy in New Zealand and, by careful analysis of the factors that cause accidents, and how these factors are controlled by other OECD nations, make recommendations for how the road toll can be further reduced
[1] Ministry of Transport (2009). Motor vehicle crashes in New Zealand in 2008. Report prepared by Transport Monitoring, Ministry of Transport
[2] Ministry of Transport (2009). The social cost of road crashes and injuries, June 2009 update. Report prepared by Financial and Economic Analysis Team, Ministry of Transport
[3] Ministry of Transport (2010). Safer Journeys: New Zealand’s Road Safety Strategy 2010- 2020.
[4] Ministry of Transport (2010). Safer Journeys: New Zealand’s Road Safety Strategy 2010-2020