$50M car crash bill

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 1

$50M car crash bill

By

PATRICK MCLENNAN

A Christchurch City Council report estimates that traffic accidents in the city cost almost $5O million last year. The “average resource cost” of a collision in Christchurch was estimated at $36,330 in 1988 and there had been 985 recorded collisions, the council’s works and traffic committee was told last evening.

The average resource cost refers to all expenses, such as hospitalisation, car repairs and Ministry of Transport staff labour, which result from a collision.

The interim report, “Injury

Traffic Collisions in Christchurch — 1988," was prepared by the council’s traffic division and precedes a more detailed report due later this year.

The report named 130 troublesome intersections in a “Black Spot List,” which was headed by the Brougham-Colombo St intersection, at which 32 injury collisions had occurred since 1984, eight last year. Other intersections with a high injury collision rate included Aldwins-Buckleys-Linwood (eight last year), Bealey-Colombo (seven), Fitzgerald-Hereford (six), Colombo-Tuam (six) and Brougham-Opawa (six).