Average US$3.75mn ‘social cost’ of each New Zealand road death

The average social cost of each New Zealand road accident death is $3.75 million (NZD 4.54 million), according to an estimation by the New Zealand ministry of transport (MOT) The New Zealand MOT also estimates that the average cost of serious injuries due to road accidents is $392,989 (NZD 473,600) per person. The social costs include financial and non-financial costs of accidents such as property damage, medical and legal expenses as well as loss of quality of life. The number of road accidents in New Ze
January 16, 2014 Read time: 1 min
The average social cost of each New Zealand road accident death is US$3.75 million (NZD 4.54 million), according to an estimation by the New Zealand ministry of transport (MOT).

The New Zealand MOT also estimates that the average cost of serious injuries due to road accidents is $392,989 (NZD 473,600) per person. The social costs include financial and non-financial costs of accidents such as property damage, medical and legal expenses as well as loss of quality of life.

The number of road accidents in New Zealand has declined from 308 in 2012 to 254 in 2013. It is estimated that one person died every 28 hours in a New Zealand road accident in 2012, with total social costs of road accidents during that year reaching $3.18 billion (NZD 3.84 billion).
Highway & Network Management

Related Content

  • Sourcing road financing for East Africa’s network expansion
    December 4, 2015
    East Africa’s ambitious road expansion programme is seeing the network expand significantly – Shem Oirere writes The East Africa countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda have announced ambitious road sector expansion plans in the 2015/16 financial year. This is despite their national budgets being weighed down by huge deficits and persisting lack of capacity to spend resources allocated to the sector in previous years. With the huge budget deficits, the countries will have to look for alternati
    Read More
  • Interview with Jean Todt – FIA president
    January 19, 2018
    Reducing the death and injury toll on the world's roads is a key priority. It is estimated that every year, 1.25 million people die on the world’s roads. With motorisation and urbanisation to increase in many parts of the developing world in the years to come, there is every likelihood that this number could rise. Can you explain why so many lives are needlessly lost every year on our roads and why greater action isn’t being taken to address this?
    Read More
  • Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link could open by 2025 at earliest
    November 27, 2015
    The ambitious Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, connecting Denmark and Germany, will open in 2025 at the earliest, according to the Danish finance ministry. Femern A/S, the Danish government-owned company managing the project, confirmed the note from the government. It also said the ministry still has financial concerns over the deal to build an immersed tunnel connecting the towns of Rødby in Denmark’s southern Zealand with Puttgarden in northern Germany. Of particular is the time for a construction company t
    Read More
  • Auckland’s future strategic transport requirements
    July 5, 2012
    The Auckland Harbour Bridge is at the stage that it cannot cope with much more traffic, yet the population of the Auckland region continues to grow at a steady rate. Coupled with that, the bridge is a key link in the most important transport corridor in the country, State Highway One. Without it, the country would struggle to function. Not only home to New Zealand's largest city and one third of its population, Auckland's port is one of the country's largest. Some 140m north of the city is Marsden Point, th
    Read More

Highlighted Content