Compliments of the season and I hope you had a good break and have come back somewhat/fully/almost totally refreshed!

The holidays were kind to me and I reflected on having successfully achieved the goal of Survive to 2025, which was a common catch cry last year.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for 293 people who had been going about their business on the roads when their lives were cut short.

In no way do I wish to diminish those tragedies. The only good thing about last year’s road toll is that it is 49 less than last year, which meant the road toll was below 300 for the first time since 2013. In fact, AA says that per head of population, the 2024 figures were the lowest per capita roads deaths since 1923. And that has also been achieved when we have more lane kilometres than ever before, including lanes with 110km/h speed limits.

I’d mindful that statistical trends like the road toll are never linear, but fewer road deaths will always be better. And bear in mind in 1990 there were more than 700 people killed in road crashes, so there has been a major shift.

I suspect there will be a range of views as to why this has happened but for me it’s taking an effective multi-faceted approach focussing and improving on the three Es: engineering, education and enforcement.

Engineering is broad. It’s things like safer cars, better emergency equipment and response times, and better roads.

Education includes improving risk awareness around things like drink driving. It still shocks me that alcohol or drugs were a contributing factor in 155 or 45% of the 341 fatalities occurring in 2023.

In 2022 that number was even worse at 51%. If we can give a good nudge to reducing impaired driving, that will make a real difference.

I think there’s been a range of understandable reasons why police haven’t been able to deliver as much enforcement in recent years but they’ve been doing a lot of work recently. I think this has played a part this year in bringing down the toll. In any rules-based environment, people need to worry about being apprehended otherwise compliance levels suffer.

I was taught the 3 Es 30 years ago and while there have been different approaches to lowering the toll as NZTA has gone through various identities, I think those fundamentals still apply.

I get the sense NZTA is getting back to basics, and the changes to temporary traffic management and a shift to actually focusing on managing risk and outcomes rather than systems and process is a good example. Its new focus on building better roads with the Roads of National and Regional Significance is another good example, and I hope the more resources it reprioritises to focus in those areas the better.

We all have to play our part too. Over the last several summers my daughter has stayed with a mate in Whangamata. I’ve usually driven her and her friends there from Wellington but this year her friend, who recently got her full licence, offered to drive. To be fair I was a bit worried. It’s a long drive and her friend’s car is pretty old and very small. I don’t doubt her friend is a good driver but through no fault of her own, if there was a relatively high-speed crash, the chance of them being seriously hurt would be pretty high. We considered other options, such as her friend driving my car but in the end her friend took her parent’s car which is much more modern and safer than hers.

For me, my concern felt a bit awkward. I also reflected on the irony that what I would have done myself 40 years would have been much more dangerous than her and her friend travelling up in her little car!

Maybe it’s old age and I’ve grown more risk averse, or maybe it’s better education, and better engineering. Whatever the reason, times and social expectations change. I can think of numerous examples where the trucking industry has demonstrated safety leadership and I’m sure that’s also been a contributing factor to the road toll coming down from 700.

Eyes right!

While on the subject of keeping safe and health and well-being … I’ve been a bit lazy over the last couple of years with getting proper glasses. to compensate for my deteriorating eyesight I’ve made many a trip to chemists and department stores to buy “ready reader” glasses off the rack.

This week I took advantageous of the member benefit offer we have with Specsavers and got a proper eye test and ordered some prescription glasses.

I couldn’t believe the quantum difference in doing things properly!

Cheap at half the price and highly recommended.

Rightly honoured

Congratulations to Nelson’s Merv Solly on the recognition in the New Year Honours where he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).

Merv has been involved in transport, civil construction, quarrying and farming for the past 62 years, taking over the small family firm and turning it into a national business.

I had the pleasure of visiting Nelson last year for an industry meeting and Merv very kindly hosted my colleague, Lindsay Calvi-Freeman, showing him around Sollys’ extensive operations which was very useful and much appreciated.

I am genuinely grateful for the industry leadership and commitment that Merv has shown, and passed on to others.

– By Dom Kalasih, chief executive officer, Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand