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

  • Tunis ring road plan being formed
    June 6, 2013
    The Tunisian Government is setting out plans for a new ring road to be constructed in the Greater Tunis area. This 80km ring road project is expected to cost in the region of US$365 million to construct. The project forms part of a series of works in the country intended to improve connectivity. Tunisia is being connected to the new North African highway, which will run some 5,600km in total from Morocco to Egypt when it is complete. However Tunisia, like many North African nations, does have a comparativel
    Read More
  • Europe calls for new road safety target
    September 9, 2015
    The European Parliament has reiterated calls for a pan-European target to cut serious road injuries. In a vote on a review of European transport policy since 2011, MEPs called for, “the swift adoption of a 2020 target of a 40 % reduction in the number of people seriously injured, accompanied by a fully-fledged EU strategy.” Since 2010 the number of people seriously injured on EU roads has been reduced by just 1.6%, compared to an 18% decrease in the number of road deaths. Last year the numbers actually
    Read More
  • EU setting tough target for road safety
    February 5, 2016
    Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has met with road safety and road victims groups to discuss the future of European road safety targets. Representatives of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) discussed a campaign calling for a new European target to reduce serious road injuries, alongside an existing target to reduce deaths by half by 2020.
    Read More
  • Cracking down on drug driving
    April 16, 2012
    New laws being established in the UK will crack down on those driving under the influence of illegal drugs. A panel of experts has been appointed by the UK Government to investigate the various issues involved. Existing laws in the UK have been described as inadequate to address the issue, prompting this move. There is a large body of research showing that illegal drug use presents a serious problem to road safety in the UK and other nations. Studies show links between drug use, criminal activity, varying v
    Read More

Highlighted Content