Safety
In early 2008, Transit New Zealand (now the NZ Transport Agency) unveiled KiwiRAP (the New Zealand Road Assessment Programme) in cooperation with other government agencies and the New Zealand Automobile Association. The system, based on similar programs overseas, categorises New Zealand state highways according to the safety of discrete 'links' (sections of the network, with a total of 10,856 km of highways separated into 172 links ranging in length from 2.4 km to 318 km). These are graded according to their 'individual risk' and their 'collective risk' based on historical crash data and traffic volumes.
- The individual risk is based on the likelihood of a single driver experiencing an accident while travelling the link in question. As of 2008, the three least safe sections of the network based on individual risk were State Highway 62 from Spring Creek to Renwick (Marlborough), State Highway 37 to Waitomo Caves and State Highway 94 from Te Anau to Milford Sound.
- The collective risk is based on the total amount of crashes that occurred on the link, which pushes somewhat safer, but very highly travelled sections of the network to the top of the statistical category. As of 2008, the three least safe sections of the network based on collective risk were all on State Highway 2, on the sections from Napier to Hastings, Mount Maunganui to Paengaroa and Bay View to Napier.
Both categories of assessment are to be used as an advisory tool for both drivers to inform them of dangerous road sections as well as to allow Traffic Controlling Authorities to prioritise maintenance and safety improvements.
Read more about this topic: New Zealand State Highway Network
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