'Driving switch will cost lives'

A march against the change drew more than 20,000 Samoans. Photo / Supplied

Samoa's bold switch to driving on the left will trigger a rash of deadly car accidents, a New Zealand expert on traffic crashes has predicted.

A legal challenge was launched in Samoa this week in a last-ditch bid to stop the change from being introduced in less than three weeks.

Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is driving the move in the belief that aligning Samoa with Australian and New Zealand rules will encourage vehicle imports.

But opponents, including the action group People Against Switching Sides (Pass), believe the switch is pointless, costly and dangerous.

Residents of two villages are so angry they plan to force drivers passing through to swap back to the right side.

In the Supreme Court this week, Pass is claiming the switch is unconstitutional because the Government could not guarantee Samoans' right to life.

Samoa Observer, the national newspaper, reported that an independent traffic crash investigator from New Zealand, Graham Williams, gave evidence that accident rates would soar.

"Based on my experience and from what I've seen during my trips to Samoa, come September 7 there will be a dramatic increase in the number of road crashes," Mr Williams told the court.

An increase in road crashes would "naturally" lead to an increase in injuries and possibly death.

He said he had studied Samoa's road standards, vehicle fleet and driving behaviour over two visits, and while conditions were generally good in town, rural regions were a serious concern.

The roads were narrow, riddled with potholes, and there was an "absolute lack of road safety measures". No one, not even police, wore seatbelts.

- AAP