Road toll
Encyclopedia
Road toll is the term used in some countries for the number of deaths caused annually by road accidents.
The term is in common and official use in Australia
and New Zealand
.
The road toll includes deaths which occur within 7 days of a road accident as a result of injuries received in the accident. Deaths of pedestrians and cyclists are included, but deaths from vehicular accidents not on legal roads (e.g. on farms) are excluded.
The New Zealand road toll has exhibited a downward trend since the late 1980s through to 2010, which was attributed to a number of factors:
The term is in common and official use in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Australia
In Australia the road toll is reported at a state level. Similar to New Zealand, Australia also reports national figures for special holidays, though usually only for the Christmas and Easter holiday periods.New Zealand
New Zealand reports an annual nationwide road toll, plus special period figures for a number of holiday periods:- ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
- New YearNew YearThe New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
: between 4pm on 24 December (22 or 23 December if 24 December falls on a weekend) and 6am on 3 January (4 or 5 January if 1 and/or 2 January fall on a weekend or 2 January falls on a Friday). - EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
- from 4pm on the day before Good FridayGood FridayGood Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
and 6am the following Tuesday. - Queen's Birthday - from 4pm on the Friday before the first Monday in June to 6am the following Tuesday.
- Labour WeekendLabour DayLabour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for...
- from 4pm on the Friday before the last Monday in October to 6am the following Tuesday.
The road toll includes deaths which occur within 7 days of a road accident as a result of injuries received in the accident. Deaths of pedestrians and cyclists are included, but deaths from vehicular accidents not on legal roads (e.g. on farms) are excluded.
The New Zealand road toll has exhibited a downward trend since the late 1980s through to 2010, which was attributed to a number of factors:
- A reduction in drink driving, due to public education and strict policing.
- Improvements in vehicle safety.
- An increase in the wearing of seat beltSeat beltA seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s due to public education - Hazard mitigation works on dangerous stretches of road.
- Reduction of speed limits in some accident blackspots and areas frequented by vulnerable road users.
See also
External links
- Tourist Crash Statistics for New Zealand Holiday Driving New Zealand
- Road crash statistics Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
- Road death statistics New Zealand Transport Agency
- Road Casualties - Social Report Ministry of Social Development