National road toll 12 this month

Press, 8 January 1983, Page 6

National road toll 12 this month

Two Wellington people were killed and a third was seriously injured when their car hit a concrete pole near Carterton yesterday the Press Association reports. This brings the road toll for 1983 to 12. The Masterton police would not say who they were. They said the injured person’s condition was satisfactory. A man died on Thursday night when his car rolled over, bringing the Waikato road toll to four deaths in two days. He was Tom Vailea, aged 21. of Puketaha. A spokesman for the Hamilton police, Senior-Ser-geant Mark Honiss. said that the accident happened about 11 p.m. only a short distance from the scene of the triple tragedy in which three members of a Hamilton family were killed in a head-on collision on Wednesday. Two others injured in the smash were still in Waikato Hospital yesterday. Kristi Daines, aged 3 L z. of Hamilton, was in a satisfactory condition, and Jackson Te Puke, aged 30. of Gordonton. was described as improving. A pillion passenger died several hours after a motorcycle accident at Tauranga

Harbour on Thursday evening. He was James Tukaki. aged 19. of Rotorua. Traffic officers said that the driver, admitted to hospital but later discharged, had apparently lost control of his machine about 10.30 p.m. A Henderson schoolgirl, critically injured in a headon car collision near Albany on Thursday afternoon, died in Auckland Hospital yesterday. She was

Lisa Margaret Claire Anderson, aged 16. of Henderson Valley Road. The police said Miss Anderson was a passenger in one of the cars.

The Ministry of Transport said yesterday that 12 road deaths had been reported so far this year. This compares with eight at the same time last year. The Ministry believes that increased community awareness of road safety combined with their own publicity and enforcement measures had a marked effect on road safety over the last few months.

Releasing detailed fatal figures for 1982 yesterday, the Ministry said it seemed highly probable that the publicity and enforcement measures contributed to the

drop in fatalities in the fina, quarter of the year. December in particular showed a marked decline on the previous year — 49 deaths compared with 81 in 1981.

The provisional total for the year. 671. was one more than’ the previous year. A decrease in vehicle passenger deaths was offset by an increase in the number of drivers killed, and those of cyclists which increased from 20 in 1981 to 30 last year. The number of fatalities involving motorcyclists and pedestrians remained constant.

In October, November and December last year 145 people died on the roads, compared with 199 in the same time in 1981. Figures for the earlier part of the year were similar to those of the previous year. During the Christmas-New Year holiday period. 16 people were killed in 1982-83. compared with 35 in 1981-82. The total number of crashes during the recent period was 385 compared with 466 the previous year. Of the 16 killed over the holiday period. 10 were male, six female and 13 in the under 36 age group. Four were under 14.