Road safety advocates are calling on all political parties to make preventing deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads a major election priority, warning that an average of one person continues to lose their life every day in road crashes. The Australasian College of Road Safety New Zealand Chapter has released a new policy platform ahead of the 2026 General Election, urging stronger national leadership and long-term investment in safer roads, safer vehicles and safer communities.
The organisation says road trauma continues to impose a devastating human and economic cost on Aotearoa, affecting thousands of whānau every year through fatalities, serious injuries and lifelong disability. It argues that proven, evidence-based interventions are available but require sustained political commitment beyond the election cycle.
Among its recommendations are greater investment in safer road infrastructure, stronger support for evidence-based speed management, improved road policing and enforcement, better vehicle safety standards and a renewed commitment to designing a transport system that recognises people will make mistakes but should not pay for them with their lives.
The call comes as provisional road death figures continue to show that lives are being lost at an alarming rate. Police have previously warned that New Zealand has been averaging almost one road death every day this year, highlighting the need for drivers to remain vigilant and for continued investment in road safety initiatives.
The Ministry of Transport has identified road safety as one of the Government’s strategic priorities, with its Road Safety Objectives focusing on safer roads, safer drivers, safer vehicles, stronger enforcement and targeted infrastructure improvements. The strategy also includes reforms to the graduated licensing system, roadside drug testing and increased investment in road policing.
Road safety advocates say Māori communities continue to be disproportionately affected by road trauma, particularly in rural areas where road conditions, longer travel distances and limited access to emergency services can increase the consequences of serious crashes. They say reducing these inequities must form part of any national transport strategy.
With the General Election approaching, the Australasian College of Road Safety is urging all parties to commit to practical measures that save lives rather than treating road safety as a partisan issue. The organisation says every fatal crash represents a preventable tragedy and that sustained investment today will protect future generations of New Zealanders.
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