WELLINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The death toll on New Zealand roads has reached 150 for 2019, up 13 year on year, while speeding was the top factor causing crashes, the police said on Saturday.
National Road Policing Manager, Superintendent Steve Greally, called on drivers to take more care and responsibility on the roads.
"It is extremely disappointing that the road toll has surpassed the number of deaths than this time last year," Greally said in a statement.
The police aimed to reduce the number of deaths on the road by 5 percent annually. However, the number of road deaths have increased year-on-year by about 10 percent at this point for 2019.
The target was introduced on July 1, 2018 and was based on the loss of 378 lives in 2017, according to Police Minister Stuart Nash.
A Ministry of Transport report outlining the social cost of road crashes, released last month, highlighted the enormous impact death and serious injury have on New Zealanders.
The annual update put the estimated social cost of motor vehicle fatal and injury crashes in 2017 at 4.8 billion NZ dollars (3.17 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 0.6 billion NZ dollars on the previous year.
