Crashes cost Otago $219.5m

The newest roaddeadies are in. Well the figures to road related deaths. Check them out for your own region HERE, courtesy of NZTA. Looking at Otago the numbers are down. Fewer crashes and fewer deaths and injured compared to 2009.  2071 crashes with 692 of those causing injury. 19 people got their name published in the paper under the obituaries. Most accidents happen on rural roads and unfortunately some risk groups cause more death and destruction on the roads then others. Like we all knew it’s the young drivers who are most at fault. Pimped up cars don’t seem to increase road safety. So our know cannon meat is mostly introduced to trees on the side of the road because of poor handling of vehicles and horrible judgement, including not checking properly. Surprisingly contrary to what the police want us to believe alcohol was only a great concern among the Central Otago region. Speeding was also only mentioned as a big cause of crashes in one region, Clutha. Clutha was also the only region which saw the total number of crashes increase compared to 2009. How much does all this bumping uglies on the road coast us? The ODT has a calculation that the estimated social costs including loss of life or quality of life, lowered output due to injuries, medical and rehabilitation costs, legal and court costs, and property damage amount to a total of $219.5 millions for the Otago region. What to do? What to do indeed. Studies have shown that the removal of traffic signs can provide a great improvement in road safety. No signage or striping gives the idea of chaos. But that is just what we need, because chaos = cooperation. Cooperation = less accidents.