‘Chch. Accident Rate Highest In N.Z.’

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30808, 21 July 1965, Page 18

‘Chch. Accident Rate Highest In N.Z.’

The Commissioner of Transport (Mr R. J. Polaschek) believes there is no evidence to support the statement made by the chairman of the Christchurch City Council’s traffic committee (Cr. T. D. Flint) that “local enforcement, firmly applied, can do a more effective job in saving lives and preventing accidents” than a national traffic force.

Asked today to comment on Cr. Flint's remarks at last evening’s council meeting, Mr Polaschek said that Christchurch, with 77 accidents for every 10,000 persons in 1964, had the highest accident rate in New Zealand. The accident rate in Christchurch was 15 for every 10,000 higher than the rate in Auckland, and 20 higher than the rate in Wellington. “In fact,” Mr Polaschek said, “the accident rate in Christchurch is 50 per cent higher than the rate in any city administered by the Transport Department.” Of the 18 cities listed by the Transport Department in its annual report for the year ended March. 31, 1965. seven have their own traffic law-enforcement agency, and 11 are administered by the Transport Department.

The seven cities with their own traffic forces (and their position in respect to accidents for every 10,000 persons) are: Christchurch, 1: Auckland, 2; Wellington, 3: Invercargill, 6 equal; Napier and Lower Hutt, 9 equal: Dunedin, 11 equal. “I think these figures show that the Transport Department is carrying out its work efficiently, and that there is no evidence to show that local enforcement can do it better,” Mr Polaschek said. The average of accidents for every 10.000 persons in the seven cities with their own enforcement was 51.7. For the 11 cities under Transport Department control, the figure was 39.9.

In Christchurch, the number of accidents rose from 1046 in 1963 to 1216 last year, an increase of 12.6 per cent. Referring to Cr. Flint’s description of the Government’s

offer as a “take-over bid.” Mr Polaschek said: “This is hardly a fair description of the offer. The decision as to whether it is accepted rests entirely with the Christchurch City Council.”