Research released Tuesday reinforces the need to do more to stop people being unnecessarily killed and injured on our roads, says Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter.

The Ministry of Transport‘s annual Social Cost of Road Crashes and Injuries report estimates that the total social cost of fatal and injury crashes rose from $3.87 billion in 2015 to $4.17 billion in 2016.

In per-crash terms, the updated average social cost is estimated at $4,916,000 per fatal crash, $923,000 for every reported serious injury crash and $104,000 per reported minor injury crash.

Genter says more than 900 people lost their lives on New Zealand roads between 2014 and 2016, and that while it‘s impossible to put a value on the loss of a loved one, the report shows that on top of leaving a huge hole in the lives of families, friends, workplaces, and communities, road crashes have a huge impact on society.

“This enormous loss of life is preventable and we shouldn‘t tolerate it. This is why the Government will make safety a higher priority when it invests in transport. This means more median barriers to stop head-on crashes, safer speed limits on some roads, and safer street design for people walking and cycling.”

Genter says in December the Government boosted road safety funding by $22.5 million to improve stretches of rural road around the country.

“By making our roads safer, we can work to minimise preventable deaths and reduce the high emotional, physical and social cost of road crashes,” Genter says.

The latest report is available on the Ministry of Transport‘s website: http://www.transport.govt.nz/socialcost