Editing Transport in New Zealand (section)

===Road safety===
Total [[Road toll (Australia and New Zealand)|road deaths in New Zealand]] are high by developed country standards. 2010 figures from the International Transport Forum placed New Zealand 25th out of 33 surveyed countries in terms of road deaths per capita, a rank that has changed little in 30 years.<ref name="Dick">Dick, A. "Lousy Drivers" [Editorial], NZ Today, Issue 37, Nov/Dec 2010, p.4.</ref> The fatality rate per capita is twice the level of Germany's, or that of the United Kingdom, Sweden or the Netherlands (2010 comparison).<ref name="SAFEJOURNEY"/> This is variously blamed on aggressive driving, insufficient driver training, old and unsafe cars, inferior road design and construction, and a lack of appreciation of the skill and responsibility required to safely operate a motor vehicle.<ref name="Dick" /><ref name="NZ_Herald_10493084">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10493084 |title=Lousy NZ drivers blamed for high death toll |date=18 February 2008 |agency=[[NZPA]] |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>

In 2010, 375 'road users' were killed in New Zealand, while 14,031 were injured, with 15- to 24-year-olds the group at highest risk. The three most common vehicle movements resulting in death or injury were "head-on collisions (while not overtaking)", "loss of control (on straight)" and "loss of control (while cornering)".<ref>[http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/Documents/Motor-Vehicle-Crashes-2010-Casualties-and-crashes.pdf Motor Vehicle Crashes 2010 section 2 casualties and crashes] (from the [[New Zealand Ministry of Transport]])</ref> In terms of deaths per 10,000 population, the most dangerous areas were the [[Waitomo District]] (121 deaths) and the [[Mackenzie District]] (110). Larger cities were comparatively safe, with [[Auckland City]] (28), [[Wellington]] (22) and [[Christchurch]] (28), while [[Dunedin]] had a higher rate of 43.<ref>[http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/Documents/Motor-Vehicle-Crashes-2010-Local-body-casualties-and-crashes.pdf Motor Vehicle Crashes 2010 Section 7 local body casualties and crashes 2010] (from the [[New Zealand Ministry of Transport]])</ref>

New Zealand has a large number of overseas drivers (tourists, business, students and new immigrants), as well as renting campervans/motorhomes/RV's during the New Zealand summer. Overseas licensed drivers are significantly more likely to be found at fault in a collision in which they are involved (66.9%), compared to fully licensed New Zealand drivers (51.9%), and only slightly less likely to be found at fault than restricted (novice) New Zealand drivers (68.9%).<ref>''[http://www.holidaydriving.com/new-zealand/tourist-crash-statistics-nz.html Tourist Crash Statistics (NZ)]''</ref>

Drunk driving is a major issue in New Zealand, especially among young drivers. New Zealand has relatively low penalties for drunk driving. In the late 2000s, reports indicated that the rate of drunk driving by under 20s in Auckland had risen 77% in three years, with similar increases in the rest of the country. Many drunk drivers already had convictions for previous drunk driving.<ref name="NZ_Herald_10611388">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10611388 |title=Teen drivers drinking and driving more than ever - police |date=24 November 2009 |agency=[[NZPA]] |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>

The road toll has decreased over the 5 years from 421 in 2007 to 284 in 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/Road-Toll/ |title=Road toll |publisher=Ministry of Transport |access-date=21 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709024926/http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/road-toll/ |archive-date=9 July 2012 }}</ref>

In the 'Safer Journeys' Strategy, intended to guide road safety developments between 2010 and 2020, the [[Ministry of Transport (New Zealand)|Ministry of Transport]] aims for a 'safe systems' approach, prioritised four areas, being "Increasing the safety of young drivers", "Reducing alcohol/drug impaired driving", "Safe roads and roadsides" and "Increasing the safety of motorcycling".<ref name="SAFEJOURNEY">{{cite news|title=Safer Journeys - New Zealand's road safety strategy 2010–2020|work=Ministry of Transport|year=2011}}</ref>