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Road safety issues
Dunedin City - July 2004
The Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) has prepared this report based on reported crash data and trends for the 1999–2003 period. The intent of the report is to highlight the key road safety issues within Dunedin City.
Road crashes in Dunedin City over the five-year period have killed 24 people and injured nearly 2,700. There were more than 3,800 reported non-injury crashes over the same period.
The number of injury crashes fell yearly through the late 1990s. 2001 saw a significant rise in numbers due to improvements in crash reporting. In 2003, the number dropped from a high in 2002 to a total of 510.
This reduction was in both urban and rural areas. Due to the relatively large urban area in Dunedin City there were more than three times as many urban crashes as there were crashes on the open road.
One measure used to gauge road safety performance is the number of crashes per 10,000 population. In 2003 in Dunedin City the figure was 42, down from a 10-year high of 47 in 2002. Across all of New Zealand this figure was 27 and in a peer group of similar local authorities used for comparison, the figure was 24. This difference can be partly explained by the improved crash reporting rate in the Southern Police District.
The proportion of different road users injured over the last five years is shown to the right and is detailed overleaf.
Major road safety issues
Nationally
- Speed
- Alcohol
- Failure to give way
- Restraints
2003 road trauma for
Dunedin City
- Deaths: 8
- Serious injuries: 131
- Minor casualties: 607
- Fatal crashes: 8
- Serious injury crashes: 113
- Minor injury crashes: 389
- Non-injury crashes: 794
Road casualties 1999-2003
User type 1999-2003
Estimated social cost of crashes*
Social cost ($ million)
*The estimated social cost includes loss of life or life quality (estimated by the amount New Zealanders are prepared to pay to reduce their risk of fatal or non-fatal injury), loss of output due to injuries, medical and rehabilitation costs, legal and court costs, and property damage. These costs are expressed at June 2002 prices.
Urban crashes
Three quarters of all injury crashes in Dunedin City last year took place on urban roads. There were over 1,100 crashes, including non-injury, reported by the Police in 2003. Those in the central area of the city are shown on the map opposite.
Of the 393 reported injury crashes in urban areas of Dunedin City last year, just under half of them (191) occurred at intersections.
Crashes by intersection control
The majority of crashes at intersections were caused by one party failing to adequately check that the road was clear before pulling out.
Of the 191 intersection crashes, 76 were at Give Way signs, 31 at Stop signs and 65 crashes were at traffic signals. One third of these were caused by a driver failing to stop for a red light.
One person died and over 250 people were injured in intersection crashes last year. There were five intersections that had four or more injury crashes in 2003. The five intersections with the most reported crashes last year, including non-injuries, were:
London Street and Stuart Street: 9 crashes
Castle Street and Frederick Street: 8 crashes
George Street and Hanover Street: 7 crashes
Moray Place and Princes Street: 7 crashes
George Street and St Andrew Street: 6 crashes
Four of the crashes at George Street and Hanover Street last year were injury crashes and all involved pedestrians.
Sixty-four pedestrians were injured on Dunedin City roads last year, the highest number in 10 years. The following graph shows this and compares the figures with the number of cyclists injured over the same time frame.
Pedestrian and cyclist casualties
Of those pedestrian-related crashes that occurred at intersections, 70 percent were at traffic signals. The majority of pedestrian incidents, however, took place when crossing the road away from an intersection. These crashes were not always the fault of the driver. In one third of pedestrian-related crashes in Dunedin City last year, the primary cause was pedestrian behaviour.
The number of cyclists injured last year fell to 31 from the previous year’s high of 45. As a proportion of all road users injured, this was the lowest rate seen in Dunedin City for more than 10 years.
As in previous years, pedestrians and cyclists injured in Dunedin were older than in other areas of the country. For pedestrians the peak age range nationally was from five to 14 years old, whereas in Dunedin City it was the 15 to 19 year followed by the 20 to 24 year age group. For cyclists the peak age elsewhere was 10 to 14 years old whereas in Dunedin City it was 20 to 24 years old. The large number of students in Dunedin City clearly influences these figures.
Alcohol-related crashes
The proportion of urban crashes where alcohol was a factor fell to a new low in 2003. At less than seven percent of all injury crashes, this was well below the level found across the rest of the country and the downward trend was repeated in rural areas.
Map Reported crashes in central Dunedin 2003
Rural crashes
Although the majority of crashes within Dunedin City occurred on urban roads, there was still a significant number in rural areas. Last year five people died, 50 received serious injuries and 129 people received minor injuries on rural roads within the Dunedin City Council boundary. Crashes on the open road in Dunedin City were twice as likely to result in serious or fatal injuries as crashes that occurred in built-up areas. This is often due to the higher vehicle speeds involved.
Three quarters of all rural injury crashes last year involved a vehicle either losing control on a bend or leaving the road on a straight. Road conditions can play a significant part in this type of crash. In 2003, one quarter of all rural crashes took place on wet roads. Over 10 percent occurred when the road was icy. In over 20 percent of these crashes, it is believed that the vehicle’s speed contributed to the crash.
The following graph shows the types of crashes that took place on rural roads in Dunedin City last year.
Rural crash movement
This report is a brief summary of crashes that took place in Dunedin City in 2003. For further information contact the LTSA at the address at the bottom of the page.
Dunedin Regional Office
AA Building, 450 Moray Place
PO Box 5245, Dunedin
Phone 03 951 3009, Fax 03 951 3013
www.ltsa.govt.nz