Trucks deliver a safer road record for Christmas
Heavy trucks have slashed their at-fault fatal accident rate by over 70% since 1999 according to Ministry of Transport statistics.
“The fall is good news for all road users, especially as we head into the holiday season with its traditionally heavy traffic, and particularly for the trucking industry which has put a lot of effort into improving its road safety performance over the past decade,” says Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Officer Tony Friedlander.
The Ministry’s figures show that the number of truck-related fatal accidents fell from 97 in 1999 to 53 in 2008. Over the same time the total distance heavy truck travelled annually rose by a third, meaning that, on a kilometer travelled basis, fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles fell by over 60%. But the percentage of these fatal accidents which were caused by another other vehicle has risen from around 63% to nearly 74% over the past few years,” “Put these two trends together and it means that overall truck at-fault fatal accidents are down 72% on a distance travelled basis since 1999. Last year 366 people were killed in road accidents. Heavy vehicles were held to be the primary cause in just 15 of these deaths, or 4% of the total.
Mr Friedlander says several factors are behind the impressive drop in truck-related fatal accidents. “There’s been a real focus on driver training and general operational safety by individual operators. The industry has also worked closely with enforcement officials to lift the safety-performance requirements for all heavy trucks on the road, not just those in the road transport industry. That effort is paying off.”
There will continue to be fluctuations like those experienced in 2004 and 2006 but overall the trend is consistently down, Mr Friedlander says. “However the industry isn’t getting complacent. The New Zealand Transport Agency will have the Operator Safety Rating System proposed by the Forum up and running within a year and this should further drive the industry’s focus on safety.”
A move to heavier trucks would also help as it would provide a further incentive for operators to upgrade to trucks with all the latest safety features and, with fewer truck trips needed to shift a given load, the risk of trucks being involved in accidents will be reduced as well, Mr Friedlander says.
To view fatal accident statistics from 1999 to 2008 please click here
For more information contact:
Tony Friedlander
- Ph: (04) 472 3877
- Mob: (027) 448 3163