Too right ! It's the mugs behind wheels doing the damage. Never before have we had safer roads, nor safer cars. Better brakes, ultra grip tyres, modern suspension etc etc etc. I remember being taught to drive years ago and it was drilled into me that I was in charge of a tonne of killing machine. Do we care enough these days?

I completely agree, it’s not the roads or the amount of cars. It's these bloody idiots that think they can drive whether they are tired, drunk or filled up with drugs. What cracks me up is the it is illegal to drink and drive and take drugs; however the government still allows alcohol to be sold in NZ at such a rate that people young and old are able to drink and drive. Simple if you drink and drive or drive in such a way that you cause an accident and kill someone this is murder and not only should you be banned from driving or holding a license for the rest of your life you should also be sent to jail for the rest of your life. That way you may have some way of feeling the way all the family and friends to when they have live without the person/s that you killed. The justice system has a lot to answer for. This country is one of the most lenient countries I know of where we do not punish people for their crimes. Life in prison means life, not 25 years later you get out and continue to live while those that have lost someone due your actions does not.

Hallelujah and amen to that. I couldn't agree more with you, Dave. Having driven in Europe for many years I still find New Zealand drivers to be some of the least aware (I won't say worst) of what is happening around them and how their driving might impact (literally or otherwise) on those around them. People seem to have a sense of imperviousness here that leads to bad judgement.

FINALLY someone who speaks some sense! I cannot wait for the day when Police come out and say "You know what New Zealand, we are sick of this. We are sick of scraping you and your loved ones off the highway. There are no 'accidents'. Everything has a cause. To stop this ridiculous cause of death in our country we will BLITZ until you get the message. Zero tolerance: speed, drinking, unsafe vehicles, seatbelts, drugs, fatigue, distractions, intersections, EVERYTHING. Until you stop, we will stop you." I think Paula Rose may be the one to do it, she seems pretty gutsy.

1) Roads do not kill. But if our roads were built using the same layout and design standards used in the UK they would at least be a much less contributory factor.

2) Driving anything but a tractor at the age of 15 should be illegal. Period.

3) Minimum age for driving should be 18.

4) Before even a restricted licence is granted, 25 hours of certified PROFESSIONAL driving instruction should be mandatory.

5) No passengers under 30 until you have a full licence (to stop young idiots being egged on by other young idiots)

6) No cars with engines larger than 1.2 litres for 2 years after passing your test. Maximum 80 horsepower as well.

Put those 6 things in place and you WILL see a reduction in the deaths - guaranteed.

It is not rocket science - it's just that no one wants to bite the bullet.

Interesting point about the road toll actually being higher in 2009 that has been overlooked with all back slapping thats been going on over the Xmas/New Year road toll fall.

You are absolutely right that that people not roads (or for that matter cars) kill people on the roads. There are plenty of bad drivers out there, but funny how no one admits to being one! Better driver education in NZ is required, make driving tests much harder and make licences only valid for five years after which you must resit your test. Increase penalties for driving poorly maintained vehicles, introduce mandatory third party insurance. Two strikes for drink/drug driving and you are banned from holding a licence for the rest of your life. How about a tiered licence system so that new drivers can't step out of their driving test and into a supercharged V8 turbo speed machine straight away? In fact how about fitting ALL vehicles with a speed limiter that stops people driving over 110km/h?

Finally, and probably most importantly, encourage other forms of transport in our overly car friendly cities!

Cheers

Its the simple things that make a better driver, people go on about speed first up how often do people die on the Autobharn not very and that has an open speed limit in some parts. Things like shoulder checks and tail gating is what causes accidents, people need to check blind spots! Also with cars getting higher safety ratings the road toll should be dropping not rising!! Every person should have a basic understanding on the workings of a car so they know what causes a car to slide. I speed but am careful when and where I do it I have never crashed or come close because I am aware of all decisions I make as a driver and that is where this coutry fails. I am not racist but foreign people generally need special driver training!!!

All sensible solutions by people commenting on this blog, not a hope in hell of the more radical and exciting ones been implemented though. Why? Because the government (of any flavour) is in the pocket of the road transport industry, oil companies, road builders, car manufacturers and motor trade industry in general. Follow the money. The money is more important to them than the lives of Kiwis.

Too true! A lot of drivers need to be more patient - especially during the holiday period. I lost count these holidays of the number of times some idiot pulled a crazy overtaking move just because the traffic was going 90-95kph instead of 100-110kph. Then 10 minutes down the road you end up right behind the idiot anyway because they get stuck behind more traffic - proving that the crazy overtaking didn't actually achieve anything! People just need to chill out and accept that at this time of year the highways are going to be busy and you may not be able to go 100kph the entire journey.

And also Edward your bang on with every point especially horsepower and displacement control. Teenagers can pick up a seriously fast car for a cheap price and in the hands of inexperienced driver its like handing them a time bomb really!! Its the biggest problem is young people haveing to much power = fail!!!!