Title: Stats point to significant reduction in road trauma in Canterbury

There has been a sharp decline in road deaths this year and road crash discharge figures in Canterbury in the last three months.

The trend of road deaths in Canterbury is following an encouraging line down. The Canterbury Police district road toll for the twelve months ended June 2009 was 39. This is significantly lower than the 56 fatalities of the preceding twelve months and twenty three percent lower than the June year average of 51 between July 1994 and June 2008 says Road Policing Manager Al Stewart.

"These figures are great and are a reflection of not only the increased enforcement around the 'fatal five', trauma promoting offences, but also the improved driving behaviour of local motorists," he says. "Local drivers are taking the message about speed and alcohol on board, the damage it is doing in their own communities, and adjusting their driving behaviour accordingly."

Inspector Stewart says that for local police officers patrolling the streets and running checkpoints at all times of the day and night, these figures reinforce police commitment to targeting the 'fatal five' toward even further reductions in serious injury crashes.

"The savings in social costs and emotional harm to the local community can be measured on so many different levels. Every death or serious injury we prevent on our roads represents a significant saving in personal, family, and community distress, and social costs that can be directed proactively elsewhere."

Quarterly figures provided by the Ministry of Transport from Ministry of Health records show a sharp decline in road crash discharges in the June 2009 quarter.

Within the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) region, 68 people were hospitalised for at least one day, including 48 who were hospitalised for three or more days. These figures compare favourably with the average quarterly counts for the previous five years of 86 hospitalised for more than one day including 54 discharged after at least three days.

For hospitalisations of both more than one day and more than three days, June 2009 quarter numbers were twenty four percent down on the average June quarter discharges of the previous five years.

Figure 1 (see below) presents the number of road crash hospitalisations in the Canterbury region on a year ended June basis. The number of admissions to the twelve months ended June 2009 of more than one day's duration is the lowest since the year ended June 2003.

The trend of road deaths in Canterbury follows a similarly encouraging trend. The Canterbury Police district road toll for the twelve months ended June 2009 was 39. This is significantly lower than the 56 fatalities of the preceding twelve months and twenty three percent lower than the June year average of 51 between July 1994 and June 2008.

The quarterly numbers of fatal road crashes and fatalities in the Canterbury Police district in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 financial years are shown in figure 2 (see below). It is apparent that there has been a generally reducing trend in road crashes and associated fatal casualties.

Canterbury's current reduction in road trauma is associated with increased levels of Police enforcement in the district. In particular, the number of 'fatal five' offence apprehensions over the twelve months to June 2009 was the highest for a financial year on record, and eighteen percent above the average for the four previous financial years. The Fatal Five offences are drink/drug driving, speeding, restraints, dangerous/ careless driving and high risk driver behaviours. As the collective name suggests, these offences are critical contributors to the road toll and trauma.

*Graphs on www.police.govt.nz/news*

ENDS

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