National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally says everyone needs help keep our roads safe. Photo / NZME
National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally says everyone needs help keep our roads safe. Photo / NZME
Ten deaths, 473 drink drivers, 337 mobile phone users and more than 12,100 people caught speeding.
That's the grim picture Rotorua's 2021 road policing data paints, sparking calls for harsher penalties for drivers who flout the law.
Police data shows drivers were fined $1,438,970 for mobile phone offences (337), drivingunder the influence of alcohol (473) or being caught speeding by an officer (6160) or camera (5956) last year.
Forty-five people died in the Bay of Plenty police district - which covers the area from Katikati in the north, east to the tip of the East Cape and south past Turangi - roads last year. Ten people have died this year, according to provisional Ministry of Transport data.
National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally said infringement notices were one of many tools police used to help keep roads safe.
National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally says everyone needs help keep our roads safe. Photo / NZME
"Supported resolutions and compliance enable our officers to choose what they believe will be the most effective tool to prevent the driver or rider from repeating the risky behaviour again in the future.
"If we understand the cause of the offending, we are more likely to be able to prevent it from happening in the future," he said.
Greally said police were committed to reducing death and injury on the roads.
"But we cannot do it alone, we need everyone's help to keep our roads safe."
Brake New Zealand's director Caroline Perry said she would like to see "tougher penalties" for some offences such as speeding and driving while impaired.
Perry said larger fines and higher demerit points would hopefully deter more people from breaking the law and bring New Zealand in line with many other countries.
Brake New Zealand director Caroline Perry. Photo / NZME
For instance, in the UK the penalty for using a cellphone while driving incurs a £200 fine (NZ$376) and six demerit points - half of a driver's total demerit points. The offender can also have their licence revoked if the offence is committed within two years of passing their driving test compared to New Zealand's $150 fine and 20 demerit points for the first offence.
Perry said it was "heartbreaking" to see so many families affected by crashes in the Bay of Plenty.
"We urge drivers to commit to ensuring everyone is wearing a seat belt, keeping below the speed limit, driving to the conditions, driving sober and phone-free on every trip.
"These are all simple things every driver can do to help reduce the risk of someone being killed or seriously injured."
AA Bay of Plenty District Council's chairwoman and national convenor Stacey Spall would like to see more investment into safer and better roads, improved driver training and "sensible" use of police enforcement in high-risk areas were critical - not just changing speed limits.
Drink-driving continued to play a big part in road accidents in New Zealand, she said.
"Everyone deserves to make it home safely to their families."
Stacey Spall, the AA Bay of Plenty District Council's chairwoman and national convenor. Photo / NZME
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's spokesman David Spiers said the number of people seriously injured or who lost their lives on Bay of Plenty roads was an "absolute tragedy".
"The word 'toll' implies something we should expect to pay. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency doesn't believe anyone should have to pay the cost of using any New Zealand road with their lives.
"Our vision is that everyone, whether they're walking, cycling, driving, motorcycling or taking public transport, can get to where they're going safely."
The "average social cost" of one fatal road crash in New Zealand is $5.37m, with the average cost of a serious injury crash estimated at just over $1m, he said. The annual social cost of road crashes in New Zealand is nearly $5 billion.
A Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport spokesperson said the ministry was conducting a review of road safety penalties. as part of the Road to Zero 2020-2022 action plan.
"This review includes an analysis around what the most appropriate fees for key road safety-related offences might be and may also include consideration of demerit points.
"We will undertake public consultation on any proposed changes resulting from this review, likely to be mid-2022."
Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe was not available for comment.
Road deaths on Bay of Plenty roads in 2022: January 10: Lama Masoe, 37, of Tokoroa died after a single-vehicle crash on SH30 at Mangakino. February 2: The driver and passenger of a utility van died after a two-vehicle crash in Ōpōtiki. February 10: The occupant of a car died at the scene after a collision between a car, a campervan and a milk tanker on SH1 at Lichfield, south of Putaruru. February 23: The driver and a passenger died after a single-car crash on Western Rd, Waitaha in Taupō. March 7: Braidon Townsley, 17, died after the car he was driving collided with a power pole on Maunganui Rd, Tauranga. March 12: Huntly teacher Henry Heretama, 42, died after being hit by a vehicle while walking on SH1 in Tirau. March 24: One person died at the scene following a single-vehicle crash on SH35 in Tirohanga, Ōpōtiki. March 25: The driver of a car died in a single-vehicle crash on SH30 in Whakatāne.
