More to be done to reduce crashes

One year into the Decade of Action for Road Safety, there is still work to be done to reduce the rate of death and injury on New Zealand roads, says Tauranga MP and Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

He says New Zealand was last year the first country in the world to mark the United Nations and World Health Organisation’s call for a Decade of Action for Road Safety.

“We have made great strides in reducing deaths on our roads, but we still rank below many other developed countries and there is more we can do.”

New Zealand released its Safer Journeys Action Plan 2011/12 on May 11, 2012.

The plan builds on the Government’s Safer Journeys Road Safety Strategy 2010 to 2020 and is an “across-the-board approach to road safety, looking at all aspects of the road system”. 

“Since the Decade of Action was launched, we have continued to take steps through our Safer Journeys strategy. 

“We have changed give way rules, lowered alcohol limits for young drivers, launched targeted education for young drivers on the issues of speed and drink driving, strengthened driver licence tests and progressed work on building safer roads.”
Simon says the government will continue this progress throughout the decade, with Safer Journeys setting actions to 2020.

“There are also steps all New Zealanders can take, like using common sense and caution on the roads, driving to the conditions and making safety a priority when purchasing a vehicle.”