A new draft Speed Rule in New Zealand would increase road deaths if adopted, the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) has warned.
The global road safety international organisation, based in Switzerland, which has been leading road safety work internationally for over 25 years, has raised its concerns over the draft Rule which would reverse blanket speed limit reductions.
“The evidence is clear, when mean vehicle speeds increase, more people are killed and seriously inured,” said GRSP’s Chief Executive Officer, Dave Cliff.
“There has been excellent progress made in New Zealand over recent years in reducing speed limits to those that are closer to meeting “safe system” principles and many lives saved as a result.
“If this Rule is adopted, it will result in more New Zealanders being killed and seriously injured and substantial additional costs being inflicted on New Zealand’s health and rehabilitation services. “
The GRSP has made a formal submission to the Ministry of Transport highlighting a number of points including:
- New Zealand has international commitments to reducing road trauma as part of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety target of halving road crash deaths and injuries by 2030.
- New Zealand also has international road safety commitments to the Stockholm Declaration, UN Resolutions and Political Declaration that the draft Rule contradicts.
- A report from an eminent Expert Advisory Group commissioned by the Swedish government in preparation for the 2020 Stockholm Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety set out clear evidence on the major road safety benefits of speed reduction.
- Both Auckland Transport’s recent speed limit reduction initiatives and those of Waka Kotahi NZTA have resulted in major reductions in road crash deaths and injuries and have demonstrated their life saving impact.
