By SCOTT MacLEOD
Fewer than 480 people are predicted to die on New Zealand roads this year - a record - with crash rates in Auckland especially low.
But the accident rate remains bleak in Northland, where drink-drivers continue to elude police traps.
Those trends emerged yesterday in annual reports issued by the Auckland branch of the Land Transport Safety Authority.
Regional manager Peter Kippenberger said there was a good chance that the road toll would stay under 480 this year, which would be the lowest since records began in 1965. The previous best for a calendar year was 501, in 1998.
The toll stood at 335 last night.
Mr Kippenberger said Auckland's toll of 56 was a major improvement on the 71 at the same time last year, but the 37 deaths in Northland were likely to mean an increase on the region's usual yearly tally of 40.
"Northland's a bit of a sleepy hollow," he said. "There's a bush telegraph operating up there and a perception that there's little risk of getting caught."
Other problems in Northland were vehicles losing control, and head-on smashes on moderate to easy bends.
Northland police had cracked down on drink-driving during the past three months and road managers were looking at providing more overtaking lanes on State Highway 1.
In Auckland, alcohol was becoming less common as a factor in road deaths and injuries but there was still concern over smashes at intersections and drivers losing control of their vehicles.
Another problem was that Aucklanders were refusing to slow down, despite their increasing awareness that speeding was dangerous.
Drivers often kept under the speed limit but still travelled too fast for road conditions.
The reports were compiled from police crash records and will be sent to local authorities to help them plan safety strategies.
The Auckland report showed that the annual death and injury rate on the city's roads halved between 1990 and 1999 - from 61 in every 10,000 people to 30.
The "social cost" of each fatal crash was put at $3 million.
Motorcycles were estimated to be 18 times more dangerous than cars.
Road toll tipped to hit new low
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