NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

In Australia road deaths are going down but in New Zealand the number has shot up

Grant Bradley
By Grant Bradley
Deputy Editor - Business·NZ Herald·
27 May, 2015 08:30 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A fatal crash on State Highway 1, south of Whangarei, in December. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A fatal crash on State Highway 1, south of Whangarei, in December. Photo / Michael Cunningham

New Zealand has recorded the sharpest increase in annual road deaths of a group of 28 countries in an international study.

The number of fatalities increased 16.1 per cent last year compared to 2013, the worst among eight countries whose record has deteriorated in the International Road Traffic and Accident Database.

The figure reverses an improvement by around the same level the year before and New Zealand is around the middle of the pack in terms of road deaths per 100,000 head of population.

Road death comparison figures were revealed at the OECD's International Transport Forum in Leipzig, eastern Germany.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sweden has the lowest rate of fatalities at 2.7 per 100,000, New Zealand has 5.7 and Argentina is the worst of those in the study - 12.9 road deaths per 100,000 of population in 2013.

New Zealand took over the presidency of the ITF today and Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the rise was disappointing.

"What we know is those numbers aren't just numbers, they represent lives," he said.

The 2014 data showed 15 countries in the study had a fall in road deaths, five remained around the same and eight had an increase. The steep rise in New Zealand followed a 17 per cent fall in fatalities between 2013 and the following year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And New Zealand is heading for a higher toll this year with the number of deaths standing at 134 as of tonight, compared with 123 at the same time in 2014 and 100 in 2013.

An ITF spokesman said New Zealand's relatively small size made percentage movements more dramatic.

"Even big percentage swings often reflect a small absolute number of people - while even small percentage changes for big countries often involve a much larger absolute number of people," he said.

"New Zealand saw a strong reduction in road fatalities in 2013, so 2014 should be seen in context of beyond just a year-on-year change. The overall trend is positive, towards fewer fatalities."

Discover more

New Zealand

Truck rolls on Otago Peninsula

26 May 08:15 PM
New Zealand

Three taken to hospital after Hastings crash

27 May 01:09 AM
New Zealand

Taupo man hospitalised after falling down bank

27 May 07:57 PM
New Zealand

Warning for drivers ahead of weekend

29 May 05:28 AM

Mr Bridges said over the 2000s there had been a 45 per cent decline of fatalities compared to the rise in population.

He said he and associate minister Craig Foss had made reducing the road toll one of the three main transport priorities.

The driving age had been increased, tests made harder, drink drive limits lowered and the rules changed around children's car seats.

"We've got to keep pressing on this otherwise you can go backwards."

The forum was that the figures are still provisional and one country, Malaysia which had the worst death rate in the figures released last year, is not in the survey.

Road deaths in Australia declined in the study, from 1187 to 1156. Of the countries studied, the United States has the highest number with more than 32,000 deaths (according to latest figures in 2013) and a fatality rate of 10.9 per 100,000 of population).

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The international trend shows road deaths falling by 42 per cent among countries surveyed since 2000 by IRTAD, the permanent working group on road safety at the ITF.

The economic downturn which started hitting most countries since 2008 has had a substantial impact in the reduction of fatalities. Modelling work by the ITF shows that it contributed to two-thirds of the reduction between 2008 and 2010.

The IRTAD countries with lowest road mortality rates are in Europe with Britain as well as Sweden recording fewer than three fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants in 2013. In some member countries, however, this rate is still in excess of 10.

"Although substantial overall fatality reductions have been achieved since the year 2000, the pace of improvement for vulnerable road users is lower than for car occupants."

(Story continues after the graphic)

While fatalities among car occupants were reduced by 54 per cent between 2000 and 2013, decreases were only 36 per cent for pedestrians, 35 per cent for cyclists and 22 per cent for motorcyclists.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As a result in many countries, road safety priorities have recently shifted from motorised rural traffic to vulnerable road users in urban areas.

"The encouraging results achieved in IRTAD countries should not hide the fact that every year 1.3 million people are killed and tens of millions are injured, Ninety per cent of them in low and middle income countries.

The ITF acts as think tank for transport policy and organises the annual summit of transport ministers.

Grant Bradley is in Leipzig courtesy of the ITF

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Crime

Duo jailed after vigilante burglary of Epsom mansion terrorises wrong woman

20 Jun 06:00 AM
New Zealand

NZ pauses $18.2m aid to Cook Islands amid China deal tensions

20 Jun 05:27 AM
New ZealandUpdated

Australian Powerball victor's huge mistake may cost them $107 million

20 Jun 05:22 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Duo jailed after vigilante burglary of Epsom mansion terrorises wrong woman

Duo jailed after vigilante burglary of Epsom mansion terrorises wrong woman

20 Jun 06:00 AM

They were paid to target a woman embroiled in an alleged international pyramid scheme.

NZ pauses $18.2m aid to Cook Islands amid China deal tensions

NZ pauses $18.2m aid to Cook Islands amid China deal tensions

20 Jun 05:27 AM
Australian Powerball victor's huge mistake may cost them $107 million

Australian Powerball victor's huge mistake may cost them $107 million

20 Jun 05:22 AM
Speed limit on part of Te Ngae Rd to rise following review

Speed limit on part of Te Ngae Rd to rise following review

20 Jun 05:01 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP