Didn't realise our stats were that bad!

[Clockwork]

...but then I don't think we are taught to drive properly anyway, we are only taught to get a licence.

You're probably right but even if we were taught to drive properly I'd suggest that there is a sizable "hard-core" of antisocial idiots out there that would disregard the training as soon as they hit the road.

[scumdog]

You're probably right but even if we were taught to drive properly I'd suggest that there is a sizable "hard-core" of antisocial idiots out there that would disregard the training as soon as they hit the road.

And then act all surprised when they kill their mates/some other poor road -user/themselves...

[Latte]

You're probably right but even if we were taught to drive properly I'd suggest that there is a sizable "hard-core" of antisocial idiots out there that would disregard the training as soon as they hit the road.

Definitely , but it would be easier to deal with the 5-10% of drivers that are idiots if we didn't have the 50%+ of drivers that are muppets.

[Subike]

Where is the stat that give the ratio of vehicles owned and driven per head of population od each contry mentioned.
We may have one of the higest incident rates, But when you put it in proprotion to the ownership it changes.
4 .5 mill kiwis own 5 mill cars.
4.5 mill newyork city dwellers own 1.5 mill cars
Britten has a low incerdent per population head of vehicle incidents, but vehicle ownerdhip in britten per population head is only 1/16 of ours
That one comparison alone shows the stats to be false by perspective

[scumdog]

Step 4. - Reduce number of speed cameras. A speed camera does not stop the driver at time of infraction so how the hell can they be about safety?

Put lots more of them up (and some dummy ones) and LOTS of signs pointing out where they are..

[aprilia_RS250]

Where is the stat that give the ratio of vehicles owned and driven per head of population od each contry mentioned.
We may have one of the higest incident rates, But when you put it in proprotion to the ownership it changes.
4 .5 mill kiwis own 5 mill cars.
4.5 mill newyork city dwellers own 1.5 mill cars
Britten has a low incerdent per population head of vehicle incidents, but vehicle ownerdhip in britten per population head is only 1/16 of ours
That one comparison alone shows the stats to be false by perspective

Fully agree with you. Hence the term "lies, damn lies and statistics"

[Morcs]

Where is the stat that give the ratio of vehicles owned and driven per head of population od each contry mentioned.
We may have one of the higest incident rates, But when you put it in proprotion to the ownership it changes.
4 .5 mill kiwis own 5 mill cars.
4.5 mill newyork city dwellers own 1.5 mill cars
Britten has a low incerdent per population head of vehicle incidents, but vehicle ownerdhip in britten per population head is only 1/16 of ours
That one comparison alone shows the stats to be false by perspective

Have you driven on british roads?

The sheer amount of cars is astounding. When i came over here i was astonished by how few cars were on the road - and hence if id been told these statistics then i wouldve been shocked. But having been here 5 years now, its no suprise.
Though I am suprised britain comes out on top. wtf. I suppose our training and licensing is better, roads are better, and a lot of young cnuts cant afford cars as insurance is so expensive (mandatory)

[Milts]

Where is the stat that give the ratio of vehicles owned and driven per head of population od each contry mentioned.
We may have one of the higest incident rates, But when you put it in proprotion to the ownership it changes.
4 .5 mill kiwis own 5 mill cars.
4.5 mill newyork city dwellers own 1.5 mill cars
Britten has a low incerdent per population head of vehicle incidents, but vehicle ownerdhip in britten per population head is only 1/16 of ours
That one comparison alone shows the stats to be false by perspective

You seem to have conveniently ignored the stats per billion miles traveled...

[Jantar]

You seem to have conveniently ignored the stats per billion miles traveled...

That's the way the stats are presented. Per head of poulation Brittain is 24 places better than us. Per billion km travelled Brittain is 14 places better than us.

Our stats are nothing to be proud of, but they do show that the enforcement methods used in New Zealand are not dealing with the major causes of accidents: inattention, fatigue, intersection behaviour, road design, training. Instead our enforcement is aimed mainly at the revenue sources of speed and seatbelt use, and the anti alcohol message.

[Pixie]

New Zealand road deaths are among the highest in the world per capita, alongside Cambodia, Malaysia, Lithuania and Slovenia, new statistics show.

Road-fatality figures from 33 countries released by the International Transport Forum (ITF) show New Zealand has the seventh-highest ratio of deaths per billion vehicle kilometres travelled and is the ninth highest in deaths per capita.

Per capita, Kiwi road deaths last year were the ninth highest, with 8.9 deaths for every 100,000 residents.

This was higher than the figures for the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary and more than double the figures of Norway, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden and Britain.

Malaysia had the highest ratio, with 23.8 deaths, while Britain had the lowest at 3.8.

In the two categories, New Zealand was accompanied by countries such as South Korea, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Cambodia, Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania and Israel.

Safer Journeys recognises that drivers will make mistakes, but it's the road or the roadside that determines the outcome of those mistakes.

"Cars, roads and roadsides need to be protective," he said.

Upgrading the country's "unforgiving" road network would make a significant difference in improving road safety, Noon said, as many roads were carrying double the traffic volume they were designed for.

As the leading cause of crashes, poor observation, including driver distraction, inattention and fatigue, needed to be addressed.

Many road-safety concerns related to the country's inability to afford costly roading improvements, he said.

ITF secretary-general Jack Short said the 10 years to 2009 was "a record decade for road safety" as road deaths fell in 30 of 33 countries. In New Zealand, fatalities dropped 2 per cent over the decade.
from internet this morning.


Bit scary to see which countries we're ranked in amongst for these shocking figures. I still believe though that New Zealander's attitude to the road (predominantly self-centred) is a leading factor in our poor crash and death records. You only have to hear numerous anecdotes from people who live or have travelled extensively overseas to be reminded of how rude kiwi drivers are.
Perhaps an attitude adjustment for all vehicle operators might influence things, rather than blaming the road, the weather, the other person etc.
I'd be delighted if our roads were improved for all users, but somehow I think that without a mind change from the sheeple it might not be the cure all tptb would have it be.

I find it interesting that speed is not on the list of major causes since that is the direction TPTB focus on.
Pesonally I have to agree with poor observation being a major issue...but then I don't think we are taught to drive properly anyway, we are only taught to get a licence.

This the result you get when the authorities think they can reduce the road toll and make a buck at the same time and that teaching drivers to drive well makes for "overconfident drivers"

NZ has a very very high prevalence of toxoplasmosis positive citizens, undercooked meat, gardening and CATS

Five years ago, Oxford University zoologists showed that the parasite Toxoplasma gondii alters the brain chemistry of rats so that they are more likely to seek out cats. Infection thus makes a rat more likely to be killed and the parasite more likely to end up in a cat—the only host in which it can complete the reproductive step of its life cycle. The parasite also lives in the brain cells of thousands of species, including about 60 million supposedly symptom-free Americans. Studies over the past few years have suggested that toxoplasmosis infections in humans, too, may cause behavioral changes—from subtle shifts to outright schizophrenia. Two studies this year add even weirder twists.
toxo-200.jpg

Toxoplasma gondii, revealed here in
a colorized electron micrograph, may
exert a spooky influence on the
people it infects.

U.S. Geological Survey biologist Kevin Lafferty has linked high rates of toxoplasmosis infection in 39 countries with elevated incidences of neuroticism, suggesting the mind-altering organism may be affecting the cultures of nations.
advertisement | article continues below

Stranger still, parasitologist Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague thinks T. gondii could also be skewing our sex ratios. When he looked at the clinical records of more than 1,800 babies born from 1996 to 2004, he noted a distinct trend: The normal sex ratio is 104 boys born for every 100 girls, but in women with high levels of antibodies against the parasite, the ratio was 260 boys for every 100 girls. Exactly how the parasite might be tipping the odds in favor of males isn't understood, but Flegr points out that it is known to suppress the immune system of its hosts, and because the maternal immune system sometimes attacks male fetuses in very early pregnancy, the parasite's ability to inhibit the immune response might protect future boys as well as itself.

"Our present study was rejected by eight journals, usually without any formal review," says Flegr, who had the same problem publishing an earlier one showing that infection more than doubles the odds of a person having a traffic accident. "People don't like the possibility that their behavior and life are manipulated by a parasite," he says.

the worst drivers in the world are all in high toxo infection regions

[Milts]

That's the way the stats are presented. Per head of poulation Brittain is 24 places better than us. Per billion km travelled Brittain is 14 places better than us.

Our stats are nothing to be proud of, but they do show that the enforcement methods used in New Zealand are not dealing with the major causes of accidents: inattention, fatigue, intersection behaviour, road design, training. Instead our enforcement is aimed mainly at the revenue sources of speed and seatbelt use, and the anti alcohol message.

I'm completely with you on the second part, but I think your first statement is misinformed. While the difference changes from 24 places to 14 places, statistics are not available per billion k's traveled in ten of the 33 countries. Were those statistics available, the placing difference would probably be significantly larger for the deaths per k's traveled. See page 9 of the original stats.

For any interested, full stats are here:
http://www.internationaltransportfor...09-15IRTAD.pdf

Some interesting reading. Nicely laid out. Also discusses motorcycle statistics separately. It's interesting to see that NZ is one of only 5 of the 33 countries which had an increase in the road toll from 2008 to 2009. To be honest though, my suspicion is that we have a relatively small sample size (smaller population) and so variance plays a much larger part. This can be seen by the extent the road toll fluctuates here each year.

[onearmedbandit]

Fucking asian drivers eh?

[duckonin]

NZ drivers?

Most couldn't even drive a drawing pin into balsa-wood...

Or a fly into a butcher shop....

[onearmedbandit]

Step 1. - Raise the bar to get the license in the first place. A license isn't a right of passage. After all, not just anyone can fly a helicopter after a multi-guess paper based learners test. Introduce regular retesting and compulsary defensive driving courses and refreshers

Agreed 100%

Step 2. - Divert the money saved on insurance and ACC claims from the people you now don't have to cover from 1. above into improved roads and driver training for those with the skills

Yeah I mostly agree with this too.

Step 3. - Zero alcohol tolerance - period. too bad if you ping the odd person due to medical reasons. Lives will be saved

Sorry, but I don't think this will make much difference. Those that drive drunk currently are already breaking the law. All your doing is penalising those that have 1 or 2 drinks. It's like increased gun control laws. All your doing is penalising those that follow the law.

Step 4. - Reduce number of speed cameras. A speed camera does not stop the driver at time of infraction so how the hell can they be about safety?

Yeah I think they are pretty ineffective tools. I know I slow where I know there is one, and then resume my normal pace. This might be 55km/h in a 50 zone or xxxkm/h in a 100 zone.

[Jantar]

I'm completely with you on the second part, but I think your first statement is misinformed. While the difference changes from 24 places to 14 places, statistics are not available per billion k's traveled in ten of the 33 countries. Were those statistics available, the placing difference would probably be significantly larger for the deaths per k's traveled. See page 9 of the original stats.

.....

Because stats are not available we cannot make any assumptions about what they may or may not show. If stats were shown for the other 200 countries that aren't listed then how would we fare? We just don't know, and so can't comment.