Accidents to pedestrians and cyclists increasing

The safety of cyclists and pedestrians needs to be made a priority if alarming accident statistics are to be turned around, says an expert.

At the Traffic Institute conference in Napier, Glen Koorey, technical and policy adviser for the Cycling Advocates Network, said safety rules for motorists did not always work for cyclists and pedestrians, and safety measures needed to look beyond the provision of special facilities.

Since 1988 injuries from motor vehicle crashes had halved despite an increase in use of more than 70 per cent. In contrast, cycle and pedestrian accidents had increased in the face of dropping numbers.

"We've talked a lot about the big reduction in injury and accident rates due to various measures, but walking and cycling have not seen those benefits and we've got to look at why that is."

Mr Koorey said under-reporting of cycle and pedestrian accidents meant less money was available to tackle safety issues and there was a misconception that the solution was to spend heavily on specialist facilities.

Instead he advocated a European model which saw the reduction of traffic volumes and speed, better traffic management and a reallocation of existing space all considered before creating new safety infrastructure.

Improving driver safety was a key concern at the three-day conference, and Traffinz president Andy Foster said only time would tell if the issues raised in Napier would have an impact on overall road safety.

"What we need is a better resourced, non-political body to publicly advocate for road safety and change the culture that says killing people on the roads is acceptable."

- NZPA