Senior Constable and Serious Crash Unit analyst Jeff Cramp. Photo / Steve Macmillan
Road Safety Week kicks off today and Serious Crash Unit analyst Jeff Cramp’s message is simple: the consequences of poor decisions on the road are lifelong – or final.
Senior Constable and Serious Crash Unit analyst Jeff Cramp reckons he could write a book on 101 ways to die in a motor vehicle crash.
“The sights I see on a regular basis beggar belief some days,” he said.
“The deaths that really ring true are the children – totally innocent parties who die quite traumatically. They hit home when you have 21 grandchildren."
Cramp was driven to join policing in the mid-1980s after fitting a set of tyres on a car for some young fellas.
“Thirty minutes later one of the occupants was dead and two were in critical condition. From that moment I wanted to be in policing.”
The Northlander has attended fatal crashes for nearly 40 years, including 32 in Te Tai Tokerau.
Cramp said it is not uncommon to attend two fatal crashes in 24 hours.
“I thought I knew all the roads in Northland but sadly I am still finding more with the next fatal – from Kaiwaka to the Cape and from coast to coast, day or night."
Cramp was part of the original committee that proposed the concept and structure of the Serious Crash Unit.
“We decided there should be some sort of formulated system with proper investigations and processes,” he said.
Cramp is now among the top five serious crash analysts in the country and one of three who can conduct crush analysis.
He stopped counting after reviewing and attending 580 fatal road crashes – 42 of those in Northland in 2017.
Cramp has been involved in every fatal crash in Northland over the past three decades, reviewing hundreds of cases on his own.
Since 2016, the unit has also investigated all off-road vehicle fatalities, which occur each year.
Cramp said he has never been to a fatal crash where the speed limit was the cause.
“It is the manner in which people drive that causes crashes.”
In 2022, Northland recorded its highest road toll since 2000, with 38 deaths. That same year, Cramp did a calculation that found nearly a third of motorists killed in crashes had methamphetamine in their system. He said 22% had a cocktail of methamphetamine, cannabis and alcohol.
“Per capita, Northland is one of the worst [police] districts in New Zealand for road fatalities and we were the only region to record an increase in fatalities during Covid thanks to poor driver behaviour and mainly on rural roads,” Cramp said.
Each investigation begins with the three key elements of the triangle – environment and road, vehicle and person.
“You are always going to have fatal crashes because you always have those components, and you can’t police stupid,” Cramp said.
His job is to electronically survey the crash scene, which involves a lot of application of physics, and taking photos.
He then analyses why those crashes have occurred, provides a report to the coroner with a recommendation about improvements at the crash location.
However, the work doesn’t stop when the investigation ends. Cramp often attends court cases for days on end.
“There is no such thing as an accident. At times a driver will crash into an innocent party and that’s why I do the job – to hold those people to account."
Despite reaching retirement age this month, Cramp still enjoys his work. He said it comes down to what he can do to help.
Northland Road Safety Week runs until Sunday. The annual Road Safety Hero run/walk of the Hātea Loop, Whangārei, takes place at 1pm on Friday. There the 24 lives lost in Northland road crashes in 2025 will be acknowledged.
“Road Safety Week in Northland is also a chance to highlight road safety heroes and champions in our community who do amazing mahi around road safety,” Northland Road Safety Trust manager Ashley Johnston said.
To register for the 2026 Road Safety Heroes walk/run, fill out this form.
Cramp’s final message?
“Our road rules are not there to make your life miserable. They are there to keep people safe.”