Relevance
Road deaths are a major cause of premature death, especially among young adults. Deaths, injuries and disability resulting from motor vehicle crashes inflict considerable pain and suffering on individuals, families and communities, as well as on other road users, emergency service providers, health workers and others.
Current Level And Trends
In 2003, 461 people died as a result of motor vehicle crashes, a rate of 11.5 deaths per 100,000 population.84 A further 14,361 people were injured, a rate of 358.2 injuries per 100,000 population. Deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes have declined substantially since 1986, when the rates were 23.1 and 569.6 per 100,000 respectively. The number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes was 40 percent lower in 2003 than it was in 1986. Although there was a rise in the number of people injured in the last three years, there were 24 percent fewer injured in 2003 than in 1986.
There is no conclusive evidence on what has driven the reduction in road casualties since 1986, but better roads, better vehicles, as well as legislation, enforcement and education aimed at reducing road casualties may have contributed to an improvement in drivers' attitudes and behaviour.
Figure SS4.1 Road traffic injury and death
rates, 1986-2003
Source: Land Transport Safety
Authority
Note: 2003 data is provisional
Age And Sex Differences
Young people aged 15-24 years are far more likely than any other age group to be injured in a motor vehicle crash, with a rate more than double that of the population as a whole (785 per 100,000 in 2003). The risk of dying is relatively low in middle age, then increases sharply at older ages, partly because of increasing fragility among the very old.
Males are much more likely than females to be injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes. In 2002, the injury rate was 401.8 per 100,000 for males and 310.7 per 100,000 for females; the death rate was 15.8 per 100,000 for males and 7.3 per 100,000 for females.
Table SS4.1 Road casualty rates by age and sex, 2003
| Rate per 100,000 population in each group | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported injury rate | Death rate | |||||
| Age | Males | Females | Total | Males | Females | Total |
| Under 15 |
146.4 |
125.7 |
137.1 |
3.5 |
2.6 |
3.1 |
| 15-24 |
895.2 |
666.5 |
785.0 |
30.4 |
14.2 |
22.4 |
| 25-34 |
535.2 |
385.0 |
458.8 |
25.9 |
6.4 |
15.8 |
| 35-44 |
394.5 |
281.7 |
337.5 |
16.0 |
6.3 |
11.0 |
| 45-54 |
297.7 |
252.7 |
275.5 |
10.8 |
6.4 |
8.6 |
| 55-64 |
261.4 |
220.0 |
240.7 |
12.0 |
5.1 |
8.5 |
| 65-74 |
226.5 |
204.5 |
216.6 |
15.4 |
8.3 |
11.7 |
| 75+ |
247.9 |
196.3 |
217.1 |
19.5 |
14.2 |
16.3 |
| Total |
401.8 |
310.7 |
358.2 |
15.8 |
7.3 |
11.5 |
Source: Land Transport Safety Authority (provisional 2003 data); Statistics New Zealand, 2001-based estimated resident population as at 30 June 2003
Ethnic Differences
Māori are much more likely than other ethnic groups to die in motor accidents, though their age-standardised death rate declined from 26 per 100,000 in 1996 to 19 per 100,000 in 1999. In comparison, the death rate for European/Other ethnic groups was 12 per 100,000 in 1999 and for Pacific peoples, 8 per 100,000.
Table SS4.2 Motor vehicle death rates by ethnicity, 1996-1999
| Age-standardised rate per 100,000 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Māori | Pacific people | European and Other | Total |
| 1996 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| 1997 | 25 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| 1998 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 1999 | 19 | 8 | 12 | 13 |
Source: New Zealand Health Information Service, cited in Ministry of Health 2000, Table 1; unpublished data for 1998, 1999 from NZHIS
Māori and Pacific peoples are less likely to drive than Europeans, but they are at greater risk of injury and death from motor vehicle crashes. A 1998 survey showed that, per distance driven, the risk of being hospitalised as a result of a crash was more than three times as high for Māori drivers, and only slightly less than three times as high for Pacific drivers compared to Europeans.85
International Comparison
In 2002 New Zealand was ranked 14th among 28 OECD countries with a road death rate of 10.3 per 100,000 people. 86 This was similar to the OECD median of 10.8 deaths per 100,000. Turkey had the best outcome in the OECD in 2002 with a road death rate of 5.6 per 100,000. The New Zealand road death rate was better than that of the United States at 14.9 per 100,000 but worse than Canada at 8.9, Australia at 8.8 and the United Kingdom at 6.1 per 100,000.
