Exploring Local Government Challenges in Effective Road Safety Delivery

Abstract

Half of all vehicle kilometres travelled and 62% of all deaths and serious injuries in New Zealand occur on local government roads. The upward trend in road trauma has revealed a growing disparity in safety performance between locally and centrally managed roads. The increasing gap, which is mirrored by differing levels of investment, was the stimulus behind a national project to understand the dynamics of local government road safety delivery and investment. Engagement workshops with local councils throughout New Zealand uncovered an array of common challenges – some of which were not anticipated when the project commenced.