Road deaths at record low

While there have been some horrific road crashes this year, the over road toll is at an all-time low. Photo / Steven McNicholl

There have been fewer road deaths in 2011 so far than any other year on record, but the police national road policing manager is still wary of the inevitable spike in fatalities as the holiday period looms.

NZ Transport Agency figures show there have been 241 road deaths since January 1, compared with 311 last year, 332 in 2009, 299 in 2008 and 346 in 2007.

National road policing manager Superintendent Paula Rose said this represented the lowest the road toll there had ever been in a year.

"In one breath we're saying 'this is fantastic because it's so much less than what we've had in the past', but the other thing is that even one is too many because it's not just about a number it's about a name, it's about a face and a family.

"The figures are telling us that we can make such a difference and that if everyone in our community works together we can - we should - have it lower than 241 this time next year."

To illustrate how radical the improvement has been, Ms Rose said that in 1973, 843 people died on the roads.

If people were dying at the same rate today, given the number of cars now, there would be about 1750 road deaths this year.

"It's down to roads improving and particularly things like divided traffic rather than dual carriageways; it's about making our speeds a lot more suitable for the location, such as a reduction of speed around schools and shopping precincts where people are very vulnerable; it's also about some of the legislation that has been put in place to ensure that drivers who display risky driving behaviour are removed from the network."

Ms Rose urged drivers to be extra-vigilant during the summer holiday period, which tends to be the time of year when the highest number of people die needlessly on our roads.

"Those Christmas events will start in the next couple of weeks so from mid-November through to the end of January it's a high level of celebration ... , people making the most of the weather and travelling greater distances and travelling on roads that they may not be used to.

"One of the most important things, I'd say, is when you're socialising with people over the holidays and you see a person get in a car who you think has had too much to drink, this is actually about when we become good mates, good citizens by intervening and helping others make good decisions."