Fourteen dead in Western Bay as Tauranga serious crash rate doubles

Emergency services attend the scene of a crash where a man died on Welcome Bay Rd in March last year. He was one of 14 deaths on Western Bay roads in 2017. Photo/file

A total of 14 people lost their lives on Western Bay of Plenty roads in 2017.

Maketu firefighter Shane Beech said it was "14 lives too many".

After 28 years in the fire service, Beech had attended many accidents but said it did not get any easier and, if anything it got a lot scarier.

"You go to locations you've previously been to and start getting these flashbacks of being there before and you think 'it was horrific last time, what are we in for this time?'"

Beech said some accidents were made a lot harder when a local resident was involved.

"It's devastating, especially in Maketu or Paengaroa. We are one big community, one big family where everyone tends to know each other so it does send a rippling effect through the community when there is a fatal accident."

He said the Maketu Volunteer Fire Brigade had attended about 45 to 50 vehicle accidents in 2017.

"The year past has probably been one of our biggest call-out rates to motor vehicle accidents.

"There are some black spots where there seem to be numerous accidents happening for whatever reason and we are going back there again and again," Beech said.

The number of people seriously injured in crashes in 2017 more than doubled in Tauranga City compared to 2016.

Figures released under the Official Information Act showed there were a total of 41 crashes which caused serious injury in Tauranga City from January 1 to November 8 last year, compared to just 17 in 2016.

Last year in the Western Bay District, there were 20 crashes causing serious injury compared to 16 the year before.

Authorities say there were still too many people dying in crashes where seatbelts and sticking to the speed limit could have helped save lives.

A total of 19 people died in Western Bay crashes in 2016. Last year, the 14 deaths mostly happened to individuals on rural roads and highways.

New Zealand Transport Agency safety and environment director Harry Wilson said the casualties from such crashes was far too high.

Wilson said Tauranga City had predominantly urban, lower-speed roads with high traffic volumes where "you could expect there would be more crashes with low severity".

Western Bay had predominantly rural, higher-speed roads with lower traffic volumes as well as greater roadside crash risks including ditches and trees, Wilson said.

"So with the higher speed and greater crash risk, it would be anticipated that there would be more higher severity crashes."

The road toll is not just a number, and we never lose sight of the real human loss and grieving behind these figures.

Acting Senior Sergeant Paul Cade

Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager acting Senior Sergeant Paul Cade said failing to wear seatbelts was too frequently a factor in fatal crashes.

"Many of the lives lost and serious injuries sustained could have been prevented simply by ensuring everyone was properly secured in a seatbelt or child restraint," he said.

"Being properly restrained reduces your chance of death or serious injury in a crash by 60 per cent in the front seat and 44 per cent in the back seat. Restraints save lives – it is that simple."

Cade said some motorists were not paying full attention on the roads and were often using cellphones, and there were more people driving too fast for the conditions.

"Speed is a factor in nearly a third of fatal crashes and has a huge impact on the outcome of the crash," he said.

"Speed is the single biggest determinant in whether anyone is killed, injured, or walks away unharmed. A small change in speed makes a big difference. Less speed means less harm."

He said every death on the region's roads was a tragedy and police and the New Zealand Transport Agency were committed to bringing the road toll down.

"The road toll is not just a number, and we never lose sight of the real human loss and grieving behind these figures."

Transport advocacy group Greater Tauranga's Heidi Hughes said the region had one of the highest rates of car dependency in New Zealand, with 97 per cent of people relying on cars as their first point of transport.

Transport advocacy group Greater Tauranga's Heidi Hughes. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN

Hughes said the high crash rates would not change until more people ditched the cars for other forms of transport.

"It is about getting people out of their cars and into different forms of transport."

She said easier and safer alternate forms of transport could encourage people out of their cars, such as the city's Cycle Action Plan.

"If it is public transport, make it faster, easier and cheaper than taking your car."

Hughes said there were less fatal crashes in the city because of the slower speed limits.

"With Western Bay of Plenty you have major speeds on big roads and in the city there is a lot less potential of deaths or serious injuries if you are going slower."