We say it so often, "it is safer than driving on the road". And it is nearly always true. The risks of being killed in an airliner, or while swimming in the sea or in almost any of the hazards of everyday life, are lower than the risk of a motor accident. Yet while the fear of flying, or sharks, deters some people from taking the risk, the road toll does not discourage driving. Nor should it. But it should warn us to drive more carefully these holidays.
After several years of a declining death toll, the numbers are rising again. More than 300 have died this year, exceeding the 297 last year, which was a sharp increase on the 254 road deaths in 2013. And this year's toll has yet to include the rest of the festive season from now to New Year.
This is the period when the toll is always highest. It is the time we need the greatest caution behind the wheel of a car. Auckland's roads may be remarkably quiet at this time of year, but that is because the roads to the region's holiday resorts will be remarkably busy. More cars than usual will be on the highways and more drivers than usual will be impatient to get to where they are going. That is usually the way when we are going somewhere for fun and relaxation rather than work.
We need something at a time like this to trigger a reminder to ourselves to drive carefully. We hope our Insight feature today will help in that respect. It revisits the first road death this year to show what a moment's carelessness can mean. The life of a beautiful, generous young woman was cut short at 22. Her last entry in a personal journal recorded her resolve to save $100 a week for the next five years to help her Mum and Dad buy a house.
Her mother and her boyfriend grieve for her today and every day. The resident who rushed to her side after hearing the crash, still lives with it. A firefighter, a police officer and a paramedic who attended the scene, recall it vividly. It was just one death among 327 for the year up to last week. Every lost life will have affected the lives of many others. For the parents and siblings of a young person killed on the roads, the loss will be felt for the rest of their lives.
