Road to Zero still an achievable goal says Police, work to do from both ends

The New Zealand Police remain confident Road to Zero is an achievable campaign despite 11 deaths over the ANZAC long weekend.

The Road to Zero campaign forecasts having zero road deaths by 2050.

However, the recent long weekend’s road toll suggests the country is far from realising such a target.

“It’s a really ambitious target but I believe with the commitment from all the other agencies and police, we can achieve that,” Assistant police commissioner Bruce O’Brien said on TVNZ this morning.

O’Brien says the Police can only go so far in preventing road accidents.

However, he urges New Zealanders to take extra care behind the wheel, especially during the busy seasons.

“We really need our community and the driving public to get in behind this and take in those simple messages that we keep saying time and time again.

“We’re still seeing the same things happening and the causation of crashes which is speed and alcohol, people using their cellphones, distractions, devices, and taking unnecessary risks.”

The road toll for 2022 already sits at 120 between January 1 and April 25.

That is significantly higher than the 103 deaths in 2021 and the 93 in 2020.

As for the Police’s role in reducing road deaths, O’Brien admits the organisation still has a lot to work on.

“Our performance hasn’t been where it should be, and we are fully committed to working to improve that.

“We’ve still got some work to do.”

However, O’Brien wants road users to accept the Police cannot stop all serious accidents and deaths on Kiwi roads.

“Ultimately, the responsibility sits with the driver, their passengers and other road users.”