KEY POINTS:
The number of crashes causing injury at intersections in Auckland has jumped by 138 in the space of a year, bringing the figure to the highest in five years.
Despite a major TV advertising campaign urging drivers to think twice at intersections, figures issued this week show the number of injury crashes at intersections in Auckland leaped from 1298 to 1436 in a year.
Land Transport NZ yesterday urged Aucklanders to watch out at intersections.
Failing to stop or give way and judgment errors around intersections claimed 92 lives in the region in the past five years.
The Land Transport NZ Auckland road safety report also identified bends, roadside hazards and vulnerable road users as major safety issues in the region. Nationally, the major road safety issues were speed, alcohol, failure to give way and use of restraints.
Land Transport's northern partnership manager, Peter Kippenberger, said half the crashes at Auckland intersections since 2002 were at T junctions, often when a vehicle was turning right from a side road.
"Drivers need to take another look before turning out of intersections," he said. "Auckland intersections can be challenging, especially for inexperienced drivers."
Last year 84 people died on Auckland roads, 616 were seriously harmed and 3779 sustained minor injuries.
A quarter of crashes in Auckland last year were at intersections and a third were at night.
The report calculated the "social cost" of crashes in the region last year as $239 million.
Mr Kippenberger said it appeared inexperienced drivers were involved in a relatively high number of serious injury crashes in Auckland.
Forty-eight per cent of at-fault drivers in Auckland crashes had a full licence, compared with 58 per cent nationally. In Auckland, 16 per cent had a learner licence compared with 10 per cent nationally and 6 per cent were never licensed, compared with 2 per cent nationally.
However, Mr Kippenberger said there was a trend for drivers stay on a learner or restricted licence.
He said improving the road safety for pedestrians and cyclists was a high priority.
Last year 12 pedestrians were killed and 96 seriously injured on and around Auckland roads.
Mr Kippenberger said enforcement of lower speed tolerances around schools should create safer environments for young pedestrians.
