Vulnerable Road User Voice Missing in Significant Crash Data System Review
The Ministry of Transport’s Crash Analysis System (CAS) is managed by the New Zealand Transport Authority Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and its data is reliant on New Zealand Police investigations into fatal crashes.
The only thing is, it only captures deaths that involve a vehicle and this is where it’s failing to show the true extent of suffering on our roads for vulnerable road users (VRU).
Who are Vulnerable Road Users?
They are typically pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders – any non-motorised mode of transport.
PWASNZ has learned this week NZTA has established a Crash Data Working Group made up of 17 representatives to make recommendations in a number of areas, including what data is collected, under what circumstances and why.
PWASNZ welcomes the review, but is deeply concerned at the make-up of the working group and has written to NZTAs lead.
“This review is heavily stacked. There are 8 NZTA representatives and 3 Ministry of Transport representatives alone. There are two voices from NZ Police, one from Local Government and 3 Consultant perspectives, but no voice for vulnerable road users or advocacy groups who use the data to inform their work. How can there be meaningful change and issues raised if they’re marking their own homework?”
On June 5, Pass Wide & Slow New Zealand revealed never seen fatality figures on the number of people killed whilst riding or driving a horse drawn vehicle on the road - to Parliament’s Infrastructure and Transport Select Committee. It’s case for elevated status in transport legislation and inclusion in road safety education and awareness programmes is currently being investigated.
The new figures sit with Health New Zealand - Mortality and show 40 equestrians aged between 10 and 79 years were killed between 2000 and 2019. A further death was confirmed for 2021 as it releases data every six-months. Worksafe has 3 road riding fatalities recorded for 2022.
NZ Police acknowledged it never knew the statistics existed and thanked PWASNZ for bringing them to the table.
Health NZ uses a range of sources like police investigation, funeral director, coroner, and hospital records to validate its data reliability. There is a specific code for animal rider or occupant on a horse drawn vehicle injured in a transport accident and data meets international statistical classification.
Meanwhile NZTA CAS figures show there have been only 8 equestrian deaths from fatal crashes between 1980-2024!!!!
Following a comment made at Select Committee about cyclist statistics being all over the place, McLean last week obtained Health NZ fatality figures for cyclists and pedestrians and compared them with CAS data.
Health NZ - Mortality figures show between 2000 – 2019, 265 cyclists and 1090 pedestrians were killed on the road. For the same period, NZTA Crash Analysis System figures show 197 cyclists and 743 pedestrians died.
CAS does NOT capture if a vehicle spooks a horse and the rider subsequently falls and dies and similar scenarios for pedestrians and cyclists.
“Every life lost on our roads matters. PWASNZ believes our vulnerable road user statistics are a measure of our roading networks overall health and attitude to road safety. We want authorities to base their decisions about priority and spend on comprehensive data.”
This press release has been sent to media and those who need to know on 31 July 2025.