Six people died in traffic crashes in the Wellington region in 2024. Photo: 123RF
Wellingtonians have had their lowest number of deaths on the roads across the region in the last 34 years.
Last year six people were killed behind the wheel, while the previous lowest road toll was 10 in both 2015 and 2010.
Kāpiti, Wairarapa and Wellington city each had two deaths last year while Lower and Upper Hutt combined along with Porirua had 0.
In the last five years the capital's highest fatality rate was 20 in 2021.
Automobile Association road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said it could not pinpoint the reason for the drop but said an increased focus by police on drunk driving and speed enforcement would have helped.
"People tend to drive less when money is tighter - the slowing of the economy and higher cost of everything may have been encouraging people to use their cars less so their income could be spent elsewhere."
"The police also deserve major credit for the big effort they have been delivering around enforcement," Thomsen said.
He said the significant decrease was excellent progress and hoped to see the fall in deaths continue.
"Road deaths are a source of pain for hundreds of families each year, and many simply don't need to happen. It would be great if what happened this year was the start of a new downward trend for our road toll," Thomsen said.
Meanwhile, the Auckland region saw 36 deaths last year while Canterbury had 39.
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