Road toll expected to click over 400 in 2018

Saturday, 17 February 2018

Two tourists died when their rental car collided with a truck at the intersection of Shands and Blakes roads in February 2018. (Video was first published in February 2018)

As the calendar days go by, the road toll rises.

Malcolm Lawrence Brierley and his wife Margaret Anne Brierley, both 65 years old from the United Kingdom, died on Thursday, at a Christchurch intersection.

The couple's rented Toyota collided with a truck carrying a load of steel at the intersection of Shands and Blakes Rd near Prebbleton.

All Kiwis need to be vigilant behind the wheel.

The British couple who make up only two of the 50 people who have died on New Zealand roads this year up to February 16 - however, another person died near Cromwell, in Central Otago, on Saturday afternoon.

**READ MORE:

Police are going to serious crashes on a daily basis and are sick of it.

* [Couple in fatal crash named

*](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/101534619/british-couple-killed-in-christchurch-crash-named) A railway crossing, then an immediate stop sign: Canterbury's most dangerous intersection

New Zealand's road toll set to go over 400 this year with an increasing number already dying on the roads.

* Dutch driver haunted by crash he can't remember**

At the same time last year, the number was at 37. Last year's total was 379, and the experts called that a horrific number. With current trends, the experts are now suggesting the final figure for the year will rise above 400.

Dog and Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says if we want to stop having the same conversation over and over again, Kiwis need to get real about addressing the issues.

And that's all Kiwis, he said, not just the Government and law enforcement.

'Multiple studies have shown that the road toll rises and falls with the economy, First, there are more trucks moving more freight, which means more accidents. Trucking accidents now make up nearly a quarter of all road deaths.'

This year 12 people have died on motorbikes. 'They kill themselves at a rate of about one a week,' Matthew-Wilson said.

New Zealand needs to get rid of its fleet of old cars, put in rumble strips and road barriers, Matthew-Wilson said. All very simple measures, but would be massively effective.

And finally, Matthew-Wilson wants the police to crack down on cellphone use.

'Distracted driving, especially smartphone use, is implicated in over a quarter of all accidents, yet, in-car cellphone use is barely enforced. The police should have the power to permanently seize cellphones used by the driver of a moving vehicle.'

In light of recent crashes, police were calling for motorists to be extra vigilant.

Senior Constable Andy Williamson who attended the Christchurch fatality, at the time said 'we go to dozens and dozens and dozens of crashes.'

'We can go to two or three serious crashes at an intersection a day. People just need to stop, pause and look properly at intersections.'