New Zealand had its highest road toll in four years - 378 people - in 2022. Photo / Michael Cunningham
New Zealand had its highest road toll in four years - 378 people - in 2022. Photo / Michael Cunningham
New Zealand had its highest road toll in four years, with 377people dying on the country’s roads by the end of 2022.
The last time the road toll was as high was in 2018, with a significant drop seen during the years of Covid-19 lockdowns.
The figure increased after two people died, one in a serious crash in Northland yesterday afternoon and another in Rangiora last night, bringing the Christmas-New Year holiday period toll to 14.
Two pedestrians killed in Gisborne
Early this morning Police released information about two more deaths - two pedestrians struck and killed in Gisborne last night. It is understood their deaths have not yet been added to the provisional results.
“Emergency services attended but sadly, one of the pedestrians died at the scene and another died in hospital after being transported in a critical condition,” a statement said.
The incident happened on Back Ormond Rd, near Snowsill Rd, about 9.15pm.
Police said investigations are underway to determine the circumstances of the incident.
Five people died in crashes in a horror 24 hours. Two crashes killed four people on Thursday night, while a motorist died in hospital on Wednesday from injuries sustained in a crash on Boxing Day.
And 18-year-old Jacinda Sione-Lauaki died on Christmas Eve.
A second person has died following a crash on Don Buck Rd, Massey, early Saturday morning. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Two people died in a crash in Auckland’s Massey yesterday morning. The holiday period road toll ends on Wednesday, January 4.
Earlier this year four teenage boys died in a crash in Invercargill, which left communities in Southland shaken in April. Three 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old were killed after their ute crashed into a concrete truck.
Seven people were killed in a crash near Picton in June when a van carrying a family of nine crashed into a truck.
“Every one of those deaths is a tragedy for the families and communities affected, and on top of that loss thousands more people have been seriously injured in crashes,” an earlier statement from police said.
Jacinda 'Cinda' Sione-Lauaki, 18, died on Christmas Eve in a car crash on Kotata Rise in Whangārei.
Road safety authorities wanted deaths and injuries to no longer be an inevitability, the statement said, and asked Kiwis to support that vision.
The Government’s Road to Zero safety strategy and action plan had a target of reducing road deaths by 40 per cent by 2023.
Police Assistant Commissioner Bruce O’Brien said at the beginning of the holiday road toll period it was important for everyone to “make safe driving choices” as motorists returned to the roads after Covid disruptions.
A person killed in Northland yesterday was trapped after a crash between a car and a truck on State Highway 1 in Brynderwyn about 2.30pm. The road was closed and motorists were detoured onto SH12 and at Waipu.
A helicopter, two ambulances and a rapid response vehicle responded after it was first believed one person was seriously injured.
A spokesperson for St John said they assessed two patients in a minor condition at the scene, and referred further inquiries to police.
More police presence on the roads is part of the Government's Road to Zero safety strategy. Photo / Warren Buckland
Three fire trucks attended the scene where rescuers freed one person from the wreck.
The Ministry of Transport’s Bryan Sherritt, director of Road to Zero, said, “The level of trauma on our roads this year is a tragic and sobering reminder of the work that remains to be done.”
He said it was crucial momentum in delivering work relating to the Road to Zero strategy continued.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s director of land transport, Kane Patena, said, “In 2023 New Zealanders will see the installation of more life-saving side and median barriers, more police enforcement targeting unsafe driving, safe speed limits on our roads, promotion of safe vehicles and the delivery of more infrastructure to make our towns and cities safe for people walking and riding bikes.”
