Majority of Wellington CBD injury crashes occur under 30kph

The greatest number of road crashes that leave people hurt in Wellington’s central city happen at less than 30km/h, according to Automobile Association research.

With 30kph speed limits currently being proposed for most of Wellington’s CBD, the AA analysed every injury crash that took place on the streets being considered for lower limits over five years.

This showed that from 2008-2012 there were 81 injury crashes where a vehicle was doing 30kph or less compared to 60 where a vehicle was likely doing more than 30kph, according to the Police crash reports.

“We were somewhat surprised to find that more injury crashes happen at less than 30kph than above it. But it stands to reason when you consider that most crashes happen during weekdays, when these streets are so busy that doing more than 30kph is very difficult,” says AA Wellington District Council Chairman Michael Gross.

On average there were 3 serious injuries and 9 minor injuries suffered a year from crashes over 30kph. About half of the injuries were suffered by pedestrians and cyclists, while drivers, passengers and motorcyclists made up the other half.

The crashes at less than 30kph generally involve vehicles turning, reversing, parking, or simply travelling at a low speed when one or both parties involved made a mistake.

“The proposal to reduce the speed limit to 30kph in the CBD is a significant change so we wanted to understand exactly how many crashes are occurring and at what speeds they took place. This information will help form the AA submission on the speed reduction proposal but is also important for the public to be aware of so they can have an informed say in the consultation.”

>Number of injuries on streets being considered for 30kph
Year	Fatal	Serious		Minor
		Where speed above 30kph or uncertain	Where speed 30kph or less	Where speed above 30kph or uncertain	Where speed 30kph or less
2008	0	4	2	14	21
2009	0	2	2	12	16
2010	0	3	2	7	13
2011	0	4	2	10	11
2012	0	2	1	2	11
Total	0	15	9	45	72
Average of 3 serious injuries and 9 minor injuries per year, where crash speed was above 30kph or uncertain.

Number of injuries to pedestrians on streets being considered for 30kph
Year	Fatal	Serious		Minor
		Where speed above 30kph or uncertain	Where speed 30kph or less	Where speed above 30kph or uncertain	Where speed 30kph or less
2008	0	3	2	2	9
2009	0	1	1	3	8
2010	0	2	2	4	7
2011	0	1	1	5	6
2012	0	0	1	0	6
Total	0	7	7	14	36
Average of 1.4 serious injuries and 2.8 minor injuries to pedestrians per year, where crash speed was above 30kph or uncertain.

Number of injuries to cyclists on streets being considered for 30kph
Year	Fatal	Serious		Minor
		Where speed above 30kph or uncertain	Where speed 30kph or less	Where speed above 30kph or uncertain	Where speed 30kph or less
2008	0	0	0	2	6
2009	0	0	1	2	4
2010	0	0	0	1	3
2011	0	1	1	0	0
2012	0	0	0	0	5
Total	0	1	2	5	18
Average of 0.2 serious injuries and 1 minor injury to cyclists per year, where crash speed was above 30kph or uncertain

For more information contact:

Michael Gross
AA Wellington District Council Chairman
New Zealand Automobile Association
T. (04) 934 8088
W. www.aa.co.nz

The New Zealand Automobile Association is an incorporated society with more than one million members. It represents the interests of road users who collectively pay more than $2 billion in taxes each year through fuels excise, road user charges and GST.