Shane Te Pou: Road deaths are lower since Road to Zero strategy launched

We might not hit the Road to Zero target but at least we are trying to make things better, says Shane Te Pou. Photo / Tania Whyte

OPINION

Each death on our roads is a tragedy, a needless horror inflicted on whānau and friends.

I am sure you will join me in sending aroha to the families and everyone else who has lost a loved one on the road. I have lost people to road deaths, as have many of you.

Road trauma continues to be one of our biggest causes of harm. More than 350 deaths last year and thousands of injuries. Compare that to around 50 homicides or industrial fatalities per year. But for too long we have just accepted it.

We can be thankful, at least, that fewer people are dying on our roads.

In 2019, the Government set an aim of zero road deaths by 2050. So far this year, the number of deaths is the lowest since 2019 (except for 2020 with the lockdowns). Road deaths in Aotearoa are 20 per cent lower compared to before the Road to Zero strategy was launched.

In fact, we have succeeded in making the roads safer over the decades. Thirty-five years ago, there were 240 road deaths per year for every million Kiwis. Now, it’s 60 per million. The rate of road deaths has decreased by three-quarters in 35 years.

That’s happened through a combination of higher safety standards on cars, better roads with safety features like median divides, slower speeds in high-danger areas, clamping down on speeding and drink driving, and hard-hitting public education campaigns.

Only another quarter to go.

The Road to Zero campaign gets mocked a lot by the type of people who want you to believe that better isn’t possible and that trying is pointless.

But it’s not like this is something that was dreamed up in Aotearoa first. It’s a proven strategy that has achieved results in other countries like ours.

Norway, Sweden and Finland – large, sparsely populated countries – have had Vision Zero strategies for years. Like Aotearoa, they have a target of zero deaths by 2050.

And they are working.

When Norway adopted their Vision Zero, they had as many road deaths as we do today. They have cut that number by 75 per cent. Finland has cut their deaths by half. Sweden 60 per cent.

If they can do it, no reason we can’t. There’s no magic to it. It’s a matter of building safer roads, requiring safer vehicles, setting appropriate speed limits, and encouraging safer driving.

Easier said than done but not impossible.

It won’t be simple to get to zero road deaths. It won’t be quick. But it’s doable and it’s worth it to keep our people alive.

It’s easy for the visionless and lazy Opposition politicians to mock a big idea like this. It’s easy to say “why bother” and criticise when a huge problem isn’t solved overnight.

The same people who scoff at Road to Zero also scoff at Smokefree 2025, Carbon Zero 2050 and other ambitious projects such as the Government House Build Programme.

And, you know what? We might not hit all those targets. In fact, we won’t.

But at least we are, as a country, trying to make things better: road deaths are decreasing, smoking rates are down, emissions are falling and the Government has built 16,000 homes so far.

I would rather we be the kind of country that tries. Even if we set big goals and don’t get all the way, at least we will get part way, and that’s worthwhile.

It’s better than smugly sitting back and not trying at all.

We could take the attitude that the road “toll” is a price we have to pay, and one worth it for the convenience of getting where we want to go. We could say there’s no point trying to reduce the number of deaths.

Or, we can say, as a matter of principle, that no deaths on the roads are acceptable and zero deaths should be the goal. It’s a target worth trying for, so no more whānau have to endure that needless loss.

I say - let’s try.

Shane Te Pou (Ngāi Tūhoe) is a commentator, blogger and former Labour Party activist.