The Ministry of Transport has released three reports on road safety, and one shows that the lower blood alcohol limit has found favour with members of the public.
The social costs of crashes has been reduced by 8.6% or $0.3 billion from 2012 to 2013.
The annual public attitudes to road safety survey conducted by the ministry shows high levels of public support for road safety education and enforcement, including the lower alcohol limit for adult drivers.
Last year, 60% of respondents favoured a lower legal blood-alcohol limit for driving. In this year’s survey, just over 50% of respondents said they never drink before getting behind the wheel, and a quarter indicated they will drink less, now that the lower limits are in place.
“The harm caused by road crashes resulting in deaths or serious injuries has ongoing and lasting impacts on family, friends and communities. This is why road safety interventions, such as a renewed focus on enforcing the speed limit, the lower alcohol limit for adult drivers, and ongoing public information campaigns, are so important,” says secretary for transport Martin Matthews.
Another report assessed the social costs of road injury crashes for 2013. It found that the total social cost of motor vehicle injury crashes in 2013 is estimated to be $3.14 billion.
This represents a reduction of $0.3 billion (or 8.6%) compared to the total social cost of $3.43 billion in 2012. This reduction is mainly due to a 17.9% reduction in the total number of fatalities — from 308 in 2012, to 253 in 2013.
“Last year’s official road toll of 253 was the lowest in 60 years, and the lower social cost mirrors this result,” says Matthews.
The Ministry of Transport has also released the annual motor vehicle crash statistics for 2013, and accompanying fact sheets looking at specific road safety issues such as alcohol and drug use, fatigue and speed.
“These statistics help us assess areas we need to focus our efforts on, as well as showing where, over time, improvements can be seen,” says Matthews.
