AA Road Safety Review 2026
A review of New Zealand's road safety performance in 2025, tracking trends from the previous decade.
30 October 2026
AA Road Safety Review
The AA Road Safety Review brings together a decade of crash statistics, research and survey findings to provide a comprehensive picture of road safety in New Zealand.
The review tracks crash data from 2016-2025 and highlights areas where good progress is being made in reducing harm on our roads as well as other areas where there are opportunities to make further improvements.
Some of the key findings from the review are:
- 2025 had the lowest rate of road deaths in New Zealand for a century
- Deaths involving major crash factors like speed, alcohol, fatigue and distraction were at their lowest levels of the decade.
- Serious injuries did not fall in the same way as road deaths
- 15-24 year olds have nearly twice the rate of death and serious injury as any other age group
- More provincial areas have double the rate of harm from crashes as the safest regions, Auckland and Wellington
- Distraction is identified by many people as an area they are both concerned about and struggle with themselves when driving
The aim of the review is to bring key information together in one place to help create informed discussion about road safety and shape ongoing actions to continue reducing the number of people hurt or killed in crashes.
NZ road deaths graph 2025