The Government’s Road to Zero public submission process closes today on August 14.
Road to Zero is a potential new safety strategy plan that will run from 2020 to 2030 to reduce road trauma and death rates.
In a consultation document issued by the Government, it says in 2018 377 people were killed on the roads, and thousands more seriously injured.
“Road safety is a really important issue in New Zealand; too many people are being killed and injured on our roads every day,” the document says.
The proposal differs from traditional efforts, which was improving driving skills and tackling risk-taking behaviours, and includes a new vision, a proposed target, focus areas, initial actions and a framework to monitor progress.
“Across New Zealand, more than one person is killed every day and seven others are seriously injured in road crashes,” associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter says. “New Zealand now ranks at the bottom quarter of the OECD for road safety and the Ministry of Transport’s latest estimate puts the social cost of these crashes at $4.8 billion per year.”
The proposed vision is:
“A New Zealand where no one is killed or seriously injured in road crashes. This means that no death or serious injury while travelling on our roads is acceptable.”
The target is to reduce annual deaths and serious injuries on the roads by 40% by 2030, from 2018 levels. The target is there to prioritise effective road safety interventions.
The document also says the safety of the roads and streets is a critical part of the system.
The Government urges feedback from the public by completing a submission here, with submissions due by 5pm today.
You can read the Road to Zero consultation document here.
