Safer Roads – 2010 Road Safety Strategy
Saving lives and making New Zealand roads safer is the main aim of the 2010 Road Safety Strategy launched by Transport Minister Mark Gosche today.
"The strategy is about saving lives and making our roads safer for all New Zealanders," he said.
"Government cannot do this alone – we must work in partnership with New Zealanders everywhere."
"The strategy is about what we as a country want to do about road safety over the next ten years."
While the road toll has steadily decreased in recent years Mr Gosche said he wouldn't be applauding too loudly because New Zealand's road toll figures were still shocking.
"Since 1990 6,200 New Zealanders have been killed in car crashes on our roads.
New Zealand still lags behind developed countries whose roads are twice as safe as ours and we want to match their safety records."
"Before we commit to anything we want to hear from New Zealanders about how we are going to make our roads safer."
The first stage in the 2010 campaign is a nationwide consultation process taking place throughout the country during October and November.
"It recognises that Government must work in partnership with communities throughout the country. We want New Zealanders talking about road safety and how we can end the pointless trauma on our roads."
The 2010 strategy includes a range of options for road users to consider.
"We all need to consider what we want our strategy to look like and how we are prepared to pay for it."
The proposals are not government policy but represent a list of options developed by the National Road Safety Committee based on years of research and experience.
"Now is the time for people to make their submissions on road safety so their views can be considered by government when developing New Zealand's strategy for the next ten years."
Ends
Media Questions and Answers on
2010
Why do we need a Strategy?
We need a
road safety Strategy to give us a better level of road
safety to aim for and provide us with direction. If we are
not all striving towards the same end by the same means, we
will not get the greatest possible benefits from our efforts
to reduce road trauma.
Our current strategic
direction for road safety is included in the National Road
Safety Plan 1995, which set injury and fatality targets to
December 2001. The proposed Road Safety Strategy 2010 puts
forward targets to 2010, and these targets will reflect the
strategic direction that the government wishes us to take
over the next 10 years.
Did we meet the targets set in
1995?
The 1995 targets specified no more than
460 fatalities in 1999 whereas there were 509 fatalities.
Additional enforcement and education resources committed by
the government this year mean we are likely to achieve the
2001 target of no more than 420 fatalities.
Where does the
government stand?
The government wants to see a
sustained reduction in road trauma over the next decade, and
fully supports the impetus to road safety provided by this
proposal. It is important that the public is consulted on
the proposal to ensure that the government implements a road
safety Strategy that reflects what people want.
What is
the proposed goal?
We are proposing that New
Zealand aims for a level of road safety by 2010 that is
equivalent with “current world’s best practice”. This means
we are proposing to bring New Zealand’s road safety
performance by 2010 up to the same level already experienced
by the safest countries in the world in
1999/2000.
Road users in the safest countries
currently enjoy a transport system twice as safe as our own.
Over the next ten years we would catch up to where they are
now. This goal is both ambitious and
achievable.
By 2010 the safest countries now
will almost certainly have further improved. By bringing
New Zealand in 2010 up to today’s world best safety
performance, we shall find it easier to aim for the world’s
best practice after that.
How will we ensure the new
Strategy works?
The final Strategy will have a
range of targets to help track our progress over the next 10
years towards our overall goal. We will set new fatality
and serious injury targets for 2003, 2007 and 2010. These
will be our final outcome targets.
What other targets
are proposed?
We propose setting specific
regional targets to assist the community’s road safety
effort by providing tangible safety goals to aim for. We
also propose setting targets for alcohol, speed and
restraints which will enable us to see how individual road
safety interventions are working.
Targets could
also be developed over time for the standard of the vehicle
fleet, and the physical condition of the road
network.
What choices do we have for reaching the
proposed goal?
We have identified three main
options for improving road safety in New
Zealand:
an enforcement option that would place
an emphasis on enforcing safer individual
behaviour;
an engineering option that would
place an emphasis on engineering a safer road environment;
and
a mixed option that would combine elements
of both the enforcement and engineering options.
In all these options education would continue to play a key role
What place does education have in the proposed
Strategy?
The government has recently doubled
the community education programme, and joined the Australian
New Car Assessment Programme to provide consumers with
better new car safety information.
Whether it is
school or community based, or focussed on driver training,
industry, consumers, or the public at large, education is
part of everything we do in road safety.
Without road
safety education, most interventions would be harder to
introduce and their effectiveness much diminished.
What
about vehicle safety?
Improved vehicle safety
standards that are already in place are likely to make a
significant contribution to a reduction in road trauma over
the next decade.
Since we accepted the standards
promulgated by USA, Japan, Europe and Australia, our vehicle
standards are in line with some of the best overseas
practice, and the vehicle fleet is being progressively
renewed to higher standards of safety.
Will the
strategy cost more than we’re currently paying?
The government wants to improve road safety in New Zealand
but further safety improvements will come at a cost. It is
important within the consultation process that people get an
understanding of the implications of pursuing a higher level
of safety and the different approaches that we can adopt to
improve road safety.
The government is very
conscious of the potential costs of improving road safety
and is seeking public comment on the best path forward. If
New Zealand wants a safer roading system, it comes with
costs attached. The issue is what kind of costs and what
are we prepared to pay.
What are we hoping to achieve from
consultation?
The consultation process is
designed to seek feedback and opinions on the overall goal
or level of ambition for road safety for 2010 and on the
options or pathways for attaining that level of safety.
It is also intended that consultation will
identify tasks and issues to be resolved and related
implementation milestones needed in order to realise the
overall goal for road safety.
We want New
Zealanders to consider what level of safety we should seek
for road safety, and what would be the best mix of
initiatives, including the associated social or financial
costs, to achieve that level of safety.
What are the key
questions for people to consider?
What level of
road safety do we want to reach over the next ten
years?
What specific safety targets do we want
defined?
How do we want to reach that level of
safety?
What are we prepared to pay, either in
terms of financial cost, or greater personal
restrictions?
What happens next?
15 regional
meetings have been organised throughout New Zealand. As
well, invitations will be made for specific discussions with
Maori and Pacific peoples, other government agencies, and
significant transport interests.
There will be
some advertising for the regional meetings, and supporting
brochures and posters to inform New Zealanders of the
consultation process.
Formal submissions close
on 22 December. A report on the consultation process will
be prepared for the government to consider as it makes
decisions on the final Strategy.
Isn’t the government’s
new road safety package enough?
The government’s
new road safety initiatives (State Highway Patrol, community
education and new car testing information) were intended to
get our road safety performance back on track. They
represent good steps forward, and we hope to fall below 500
fatalities on our roads this year. More can be done to make
the roading environment safer for all road users.
Why
doesn’t the government just get tougher with the people who
are causing the crashes?
Tough new sanctions
introduced last year allow Police to take action against
serious and repeat offenders on the roadside. The 28 day
vehicle impoundment law has corresponded with a significant
drop in the number of disqualified drivers being taken to
court. Police report a 38% reduction in offences detected
for driving while disqualified compared to same period in
the previous year. This reduction is important because
disqualified drivers figure disproportionately in crash
statistics. In fact they cause one in ten fatal road
crashes.
The enforcement emphasis option
presented in the proposed Strategy envisages further tough
measures for New Zealand road users. But no matter how
tough our enforcement measures become, enforcement alone is
not the full answer to solving the road safety
problem.
Have you taken account of the wider benefits of
public transport, walking and cycling?
The
government has recently announced changes to public
transport funding arrangements which could see more funding
being made available for public transport, depending on
patronage.
Public transport is safer on a per
kilometre travelled basis than private car travel, but it is
not expected that within the lifetime of the road safety
Strategy the shift will be significant enough to
fundamentally relieve congestion or improve safety. Public
transport is more likely to be effective over a much longer
timeframe.
Cycling and walking will also feature
in the New Zealand Transport Strategy work. They are
important features of our transport system and we are
studying how to improve their safety in a cost effective
way.