LTSA Thanks Drivers For Low Easter Toll

2 April 2002

The Land Transport Safety Authority is thanking drivers for their patience and overall good behaviour on the roads over the Easter weekend.

The provisional road toll for Easter 2002 stands at two, the lowest since records began in 1956.

Director of Land Transport Safety David Wright said drivers should be congratulated for using common sense and not losing patience in difficult and often frustrating traffic conditions.

"The weather this weekend was pretty atrocious at times, and we know there were some lengthy delays on the state highways. Police tell us that most people seemed to drive to the conditions and accept that it would just take longer to get where they were going. It's encouraging to see and drivers deserve credit for being so patient."

Mr Wright said this was also the first Easter weekend where the Police Highway Patrol were on the roads at full strength, and their highly visible presence was a good reminder for drivers to keep speeds down.

The official Easter holiday period began at 4 p.m. Thursday and finished at 6 a.m. today.

Easter thanks two of two

Easter Weekend - Historical Crash Data

Year Deaths Injuries
1980 15 213
1981 5 248
1982 13 240
1983 11 285
1984 15 258
1985 9 291
1986 15 254
1987 19 254
1988 12 283
1989 16 214
1990 17 237
1991 12 238
1992 12 185
1993 11 165
1994 10 228
1995 9 192
1996 7 229
1997 6 218
1998 3 176
1999 7 147
2000 6 134
2001 4 160
2002* 2 N/A

*Provisional data

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