Road toll is the term used in New Zealand and Australia for the number of deaths caused annually by road accidents.
Road toll is the term used in New Zealand and Australia for the number of deaths caused annually by road accidents.
New Zealand reports a daily, monthly, quarterly and annual nationwide road toll, [1] plus special period figures for a number of holiday periods: [2]
The road toll includes deaths which occur within 7 days of a road accident as a result of injuries received in the accident. Deaths of pedestrians and cyclists are included, but deaths from vehicular accidents not on legal roads (e.g. on farms) are excluded.
The New Zealand road toll has exhibited a downward trend since the late 1980s through to 2010, which was attributed to a number of factors:
Road toll statistics are available from as far back as 1921, when records began. [3] A peak was reached with 843 deaths in 1973. [4] Here are some figures from the last few years (dashes indicate figures not published or unavailable). [5] [6]
| Year | Road deaths | Fatal crashes | No. of injuries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 308 | - | 12,122 |
| 2013 | 253 | - | 11,781 |
| 2014 | 293 | - | 11,219 |
| 2015 | 319 | - | 12,270 |
| 2016 | 327 | 285 | 12,456 |
| 2017 | 380 | 344 | 14,039 |
| 2018 | 303 | 14,696 | |
| 2019 | 272 | 14,742 | |
| 2020 | 258 | ||
| 2021 | 319 | ||
Road deaths and injuries per capita since 2000. [3] [6]
| Year | Population (000) | Vehicles (000) | No. of fatalities | Per 100,000 population | Per 10,000 vehicles | No. of injuries | Per 100,000 population | Per 10,000 vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3830.8 | 2601.7 | 462 | 12.1 | 1.8 | 10962 | 286 | 42.1 |
| 2001 | 3850.1 | 2633.2 | 455 | 11.8 | 1.7 | 12368 | 321 | 47.0 |
| 2002 | 3939.1 | 2709.5 | 405 | 10.3 | 1.5 | 13918 | 353 | 51.4 |
| 2003 | 4009.2 | 2801.0 | 461 | 11.5 | 1.6 | 14372 | 359 | 51.3 |
| 2004 | 4060.9 | 2920.7 | 435 | 10.7 | 1.5 | 13890 | 342 | 47.6 |
| 2005 | 4098.3 | 3030.4 | 405 | 9.9 | 1.3 | 14451 | 353 | 47.7 |
| 2006 | 4139.5 | 3124.3 | 393 | 9.5 | 1.3 | 15174 | 367 | 48.6 |
| 2007 | 4228.3 | 3189.1 | 421 | 10.0 | 1.3 | 16013 | 379 | 50.2 |
| 2008 | 4268.6 | 3247.8 | 366 | 8.6 | 1.1 | 15174 | 356 | 46.7 |
| 2009 | 4315.8 | 3220.3 | 384 | 8.9 | 1.2 | 14541 | 337 | 45.2 |
| 2010 | 4367.8 | 3230.6 | 375 | 8.6 | 1.2 | 14031 | 321 | 43.4 |
| 2011 | 4405.3 | 3233.6 | 284 | 6.4 | 0.9 | 12574 | 285 | 38.9 |
| 2012 | 4433.0 | 3250.1 | 308 | 6.9 | 0.9 | 12122 | 273 | 37.3 |
| 2013 | 4471.1 | 3304.7 | 253 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 11781 | 264 | 35.6 |
| 2014 | 4509.9 | 3398.1 | 293 | 6.5 | 0.9 | 11219 | 249 | 33.0 |
| 2015 | 4596.7 | 3514.8 | 319 | 6.9 | 0.9 | 12270 | 267 | 34.9 |
| 2016 | 4693.0 | 3656.3 | 327 | 7.0 | 0.9 | 12456 | 265 | 34.1 |
| 2017 | 4,765 | 3,827 | 378 | 7.9 | 1 | 14,039 | 299 | 36.7 |
| 2018 | 4,841 | 3,975 | 378 | 7.8 | 1 | 14,696 | 304 | 37 |
| 2019 | 4,920 | 4,076 | 352 | 7.2 | 0.9 | 14,742 | 300 | 36.2 |
A break down of the types of road users involved in the road death toll since 2010. [3] [7]
| Year | Drivers | Passengers | Motor Cyclists | Cyclists | Pedestrians | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest: | 307(1987) | 250 (1973) | 146(1988) | 41 (1957) | 157 (1973) | - | - |
| Lowest: | 49 (1952) | 49 (2013) | 28 (2003) | 5(2016) | 25 (2015/2016) | ||
| 2010 | 180 | 98 | 50 | 10 | 36 | 2 | 375 |
| 2011 | 150 | 61 | 33 | 9 | 31 | 0 | 284 |
| 2012 | 135 | 82 | 50 | 8 | 33 | 0 | 308 |
| 2013 | 125 | 49 | 39 | 8 | 30 | 2 | 253 |
| 2014 | 127 | 70 | 43 | 10 | 43 | 0 | 293 |
| 2015 | 157 | 75 | 54 | 6 | 25 | 2 | 319 |
| 2016 | 163 | 78 | 52 | 5 | 25 | 4 | 327 |
| 2017 | 161 | 66 | 34 | 16 | 32 | 309 | |
| 2018 | 191 | 92 | 45 | 6 | 40 | 4 | 378 |
| 2019 | 173 | 79 | 51 | 13 | 29 | 3 | 348 |
| 2020 | 158 | 64 | 53 | 11 | 30 | 2 | 318 |
| 2021 | 170 | 72 | 43 | 7 | 25 | 1 | 318 |
The following table gives the number of road toll deaths by age group from 2010. The total killed includes unknown aged fatalities. [3]
| Year | 0–14 years | 15–24 years | 25–39 years | 40–59 years | 60+ years | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18 | 113 | 76 | 83 | 85 | 375 |
| 2011 | 11 | 82 | 46 | 79 | 65 | 284 |
| 2012 | 14 | 62 | 68 | 78 | 84 | 308 |
| 2013 | 6 | 64 | 41 | 76 | 64 | 253 |
| 2014 | 13 | 61 | 66 | 69 | 81 | 293 |
| 2015 | 8 | 84 | 73 | 79 | 74 | 319 |
| 2016 | 17 | 82 | 64 | 93 | 71 | 327 |
| 2017 | 12 | 66 | 79 | 75 | 76 | 309 |
| 2018 | 18 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 84 | 303 |
| 2019 | 23 | 40 | 54 | 87 | 68 | 272 |
| 2020 | 9 | 48 | 61 | 70 | 70 | 258 |
Local Body boundary changes mean that records have been kept from 1980 onwards. In November 2010, the Auckland Super City was established. The figures have been altered for Auckland and other regions to allow for this development. [3]
| REGION | Lowest Total | Highest Total | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northland | 7 (2011) | 54 (1989) | 18 | 21 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 23 |
| Auckland | 36 (2014) | 197 (1987) | 41 | 48 | 36 | 52 | 46 | 54 | 46 | 34 | 25 |
| Waikato | 33 (2013) | 141 (1991) | 65 | 33 | 48 | 69 | 79 | 54 | 58 | 65 | 50 |
| Bay of Plenty | 18 (2013) | 70 (1987) | 23 | 18 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 19 | 29 | 32 | 24 |
| Gisborne / Hawke's Bay | 10 (2013) | 64 (1986) | 31 | 10 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 26 |
| Taranaki | 7 (2013) | 45 (1991) | 17 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 11 |
| Manawatu/Wanganui | 15 (2013) | 81 (1987) | 29 | 15 | 34 | 28 | 16 | 28 | 36 | 16 | 26 |
| Wellington | 10 (2015) | 71 (1987) | 11 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| Nelson / Marlborough | 5 (2015) | 27 (1984) | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
| West Coast | 3 (1996) | 18 (2001) | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Canterbury | 32 (2009) | 96 (1989) | 33 | 49 | 38 | 47 | 34 | 45 | 38 | 35 | 23 |
| Otago | 11 (2009) | 43 (1988) | 17 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 18 |
| Southland | 2 (2013) | 25 (1984) | 7 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
Around 20% of deaths involve trucks, [8] though trucks form only about 3% of traffic on the roads. [9] A speed study of 188 trucks found 86% took corners faster than the recommended speed and, of truck crashes on the Kaikōura coast, 73% had rolled on a corners with an advisory speed sign. [10]
Overseas licence holders are involved in just over 6 percent of fatal and injury crashes. [11] In 2016 overseas drivers (those with an overseas drivers licence) were involved in 24 fatal traffic crashes, 114 serious injury crashes and 506 minor injury crashes. In comparison, in total in New Zealand in 2016, there were 286 fatal crashes, 2,099 serious injury crashes and 7,583 minor injury crashes. [12] Over the five years from 2012-2016, 6.2 percent of fatal and injury crashes involved an overseas driver. Over the same period, 4.1 percent of all drivers involved in crashes were overseas drivers. In 2019 6 fatal crashes involved overseas drivers, killing 17 people. [13]
In Australia the road toll is reported at a state level. Similar to New Zealand, Australia also reports national figures for special holidays, though usually only for the Christmas and Easter holiday periods.
In 2010, 1367 people lost their lives in road traffic crashes in Australia. [14] While strategies to reduce road toll, including legislation, improvements to vehicle's which help to make them safer, and educational programs have been developed by the national government, under the 1992 Road Safety Strategy, it is up to the local governments to adopt and enforce these policies. [15] The state of Victoria has implemented several initiatives such as speed camera, random alcohol breath tests, and an integrated state trauma system, which have successfully reduced the number of deaths caused by road traffic crashes. [16]
Random breath testing ("RBT"), utilized throughout Australia, differs from the sobriety check-points commonly used in other countries. In Australia, random breath testing is accomplished by setting up a highly visible road block, wherein all drivers passing through are asked to take an alcohol breath test, regardless of whether there is any cause to believe the driver has been drinking. [17] RBT was shown to reduce alcohol related road toll by 8–71% in fourteen different studies reviewed by Dr. Corinne Peek-Asa. [18] Requiring motorists and passengers to wear seat belts appears to have reduced the road toll in Australia. [19]
Transport in New Zealand, with its mountainous topography and a relatively small population mostly located near its long coastline, has always faced many challenges. Before Europeans arrived, Māori either walked or used watercraft on rivers or along the coasts. Later on, European shipping and railways revolutionised the way of transporting goods and people, before being themselves overtaken by road and air, which are nowadays the dominant forms of transport. However, bulk freight still continues to be transported by coastal shipping and by rail transport, and there are attempts to (re)introduce public transport as a major transport mode in the larger population centres.
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed, expressed as kilometres per hour (km/h) or miles per hour (mph) or both. Speed limits are commonly set by the legislative bodies of national or provincial governments and enforced by national or regional police and judicial authorities. Speed limits may also be variable, or in some places nonexistent, such as on most of the Autobahnen in Germany.
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-road public transport.
Seat belt legislation requires the fitting of seat belts to motor vehicles and the wearing of seat belts by motor vehicle occupants to be mandatory. Laws requiring the fitting of seat belts to cars have in some cases been followed by laws mandating their use, with the effect that thousands of deaths on the road have been prevented. Different laws apply in different countries to the wearing of seat belts.
Rumble strips are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. A rumble strip is applied along the direction of travel following an edgeline or centerline, to alert drivers when they drift from their lane. Rumble strips may also be installed in a series across the direction of travel, to warn drivers of a stop or slowdown ahead, or of an approaching danger spot.
The Te Manatū WakaMinistry of Transport is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on transport policy. The Ministry works closely with other government transport partners, including the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to advance their strategic objectives.
Motorcycle safety is the study of the risks and dangers of motorcycling, and the approaches to mitigate that risk, focusing on motorcycle design, road design and traffic rules, rider training, and the cultural attitudes of motorcyclists and other road users.
Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, which types of cycling environment or cycling infrastructure is safest for cyclists. The merits of obeying the traffic laws and using bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the chance of head injury in the event of a crash.
Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated by road incidents annually killing 32,479 people in 2011 to over 42,000 people in 2022. The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles. For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles: 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane.
A tram accident is any accident involving a tram or tram system.
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is a car safety performance assessment programme based in Australia and founded in 1993. ANCAP specialises in the crash testing of automobiles sold in Australia and the publishing of these results for the benefit of consumers. ANCAP provides consumers with transparent advice and information on the level of occupant and pedestrian protection provided by different vehicle models in the most common types of crashes, as well as their ability—through technology—to avoid a crash.
Intelligent speed assistance (ISA), or intelligent speed adaptation, also known as alerting, and intelligent authority, is any system that ensures that vehicle speed does not exceed a safe or legally enforced speed. In case of potential speeding, the driver can be alerted or the speed reduced automatically.
A traffic collision, also called a motor vehicle collision, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury, disability, death, and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved. Road transport is the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy. The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using the term. Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks, staged crashes, vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide.
Worldwide it was estimated that 1.25 million people were killed and many millions more were injured in motor vehicle collisions in 2013. This makes motor vehicle collisions the leading cause of death among young adults of 15–29 years of age and the ninth most frequent cause of death for all ages worldwide. In the United States, 40,100 people died and 2.8 million were injured in crashes in 2017, and around 2,000 children under 16 years old die every year.
Speed limits are enforced on most public roadways by authorities, with the purpose to improve driver compliance with speed limits. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera' systems, which may incorporate the use of an automatic number plate recognition system. Traditionally, police officers used stopwatches to measure the time taken for a vehicle to cover a known distance. More recently, radar guns and automated in-vehicle systems have come into use.
Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to attempt to persuade road vehicle users to comply with the speed limits in force on the UK's roads. Methods used include those for detection and prosecution of contraventions such as roadside fixed speed cameras, average speed cameras, and police-operated LIDAR speed guns or older radar speed guns. Vehicle activated signs and Community Speed Watch schemes are used to encourage compliance. Some classes of vehicles are fitted with speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation is being trialled in some places on a voluntary basis.
Road safety in Europe encompasses transportation safety among road users in Europe, including automobile accidents, pedestrian or cycling accidents, motor-coach accidents, and other incidents occurring within the European Union or within the European region of the World Health Organization. Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured.
On 10 February 2018, at approximately 18:13 HKT, a Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) double-decker bus flipped onto its side on Tai Po Road in Tai Po, New Territories. The crash killed 19 people and injured 65.