Home > Our Publications > New Zealand Outlook > 2004 > July

IF YOU thought that emigrating to New Zealand would lead to an easier life on the road - then think again.
The battle against speeding motorists has been cranked up another notch with police expecting to dish out a quarter more tickets over the corning year.
Estimates in the police's annual statement of intent put the number of tickets to be issued during the next financial year at between 350,000 and 400,000, compared with between 275,000 and 325,000 this year.
The latest projection means ticket numbers will have almost doubled in only two years.
Police announced last year that tickets issued were set to increase by a third.
Police also plan to increase the number of mobile breath tests, from about 750,000 to about 850,000, as well as the number of tickets for not wearing a seatbelt, from 55.000 to 65,000,
The number of traffic tickets issued, which includes those for red light running and not wearing a seatbelt, is expected to rise by, 100,000 to 1.4 million.
Figures in the Budget showed that total traffic fines collected by police this financial year would have added $105.2 million to government coffers.
Almost a quarter of all police funding goes toward road policing as part of its Road Safety to 2010 strategy, which aims to lower the road death toll to 300 by 2010.
However, last year's road toll of 459, Lip from a record low of' 404 in 2002, has caused police to amend their target for the coming financial year from between 350 and 390 to between 350 and 410.