Government road safety campaign doesn't address woeful state of cars, MTA says

Monday, 28 February 2022

The government's 'Road to Zero' road safety strategy 2020-2030 has been released for consultation. (First published July 2019)

The Motor Trade Association has criticised the Government’s new ‘Road to Zero’ safety campaign, saying the condition of thousands of vehicles is a “major concern”.

New figures found 40 per cent of vehicles failed Warrant of Fitness (WoF) tests at the first inspection in 2021.

Association manager Graeme Swan said that was “massive”.

“It means thousands of our cars are not in a fit state to be on our roads at the time they go for their WoF,” Swan said.

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“And vehicles on our roads are getting older, not younger.”

Graeme Swan of the Motor Trade Association says thousands of cars are not roadworthy.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and police launched the campaign last Wednesday, as part of the Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy.

The strategy, which was proposed in 2019 and adopted in 2020, is a 10-year plan to reduce road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030. By 2050, the plan suggests nobody would be killed on the road.

Swan said vehicle-related factors contributed to about 10 per cent of the road toll and that needed to be part of the Road To Zero discussion.

“Even if the crash is caused by other factors, such as driver error, common sense tells you that if your tyres have good tread and your brakes are working properly, you may have a better chance of avoiding an accident.”

Waka Kotahi director of land transport Kane Patena said improving the safety of New Zealand’s vehicle fleet is a fundamental component of the strategy, with vehicle safety being identified as one of five key focuses.

“Safe vehicles not only help drivers avoid crashes, but also protect occupants and other road users when crashes do happen. Vehicle safety is a core part of the Road to Zero discussion,” Patena said.

About 28 per cent of vehicles that failed initial inspection passed their WoF on the second attempt. Lights were the biggest reason for failures, followed by tyres and chassis issues.

The MTA said that didn’t “alter the fact” vehicles had been on the road in an unsafe condition.

Figures provided to the MTA by Waka Kotahi found “significant regional variance” in failure rates, with Marlborough recording the lowest rate at 30 per cent and Waikato the highest with 48 per cent.

A degree of variance was expected, but “not as much as this”, Swan said.

“There’s a lot of possible factors, but really the standard should be a lot more even across the country.”

As the Government announced the plan to reduce road fatalities to zero, Auckland Transport data showed all road deaths across the region had increased by 121 per cent, from 28 to 62 annually.

This came despite the region being in the midst of the most recent Covid-19 lockdown, where road usage significantly dropped during alert level 4.

Deaths and serious injuries on all Auckland roads – including local roads and highways – increased by 19 per cent to 620, AT’s annual monthly indicators report said.

The MTA encouraged all drivers to keep their vehicles in a safe, roadworthy condition.

“Don’t delay getting your vehicle serviced, or that unusual noise checked out – it could save you money in the long run, or more importantly save a life.”