Revealed – NZ suburbs with highest auto collision rates

Revealed – NZ suburbs with highest auto collision rates | Insurance Business New Zealand

Insurance News

Revealed – NZ suburbs with highest auto collision rates

New data reveals almost half of collisions happen at a common time frame

Insurance News

By
Jonalyn Cueto

Insurance business AMI has published new data on the locations where collisions took place in New Zealand. Topping the list with the most collisions are Christchurch city centre and Auckland city centre, with at least 5,000 collisions reported.

Other areas in the top 10 list are Henderson, Albany, Glenfield, Mount Maunganui, East Tamaki, central Dunedin, Mount Wellington, and central Hamilton. Results also revealed that 40% of collisions took place between 1pm and 6pm. Friday also appeared to be the riskiest day of the week, with 16% of collisions occurring on a Friday.

“This rush hour period often sees gridlock and agitated driver behaviour,” noted Wayne Tippet (pictured), executive general manager at AMI. “The second busiest period for collisions is late morning, which tends to be a much quieter time on the roads.”

Tippet advised drivers to remain calm and alert to make “smart, responsible decisions”. He noted most collisions happened in car parks, and many claims during the quieter periods for shoppers were often due to drivers failing to stop or mistaking a light as green for their lane.

“This points to the importance of remaining alert and conscious of safety, even if the roads are quieter,” said Tippet. “Often the late morning collisions are between drivers who have held a licence for more than a decade. Even if you have years of experience on the road, you should never become complacent behind the wheel.”

AMI recommends drivers to:

Stop where it is safe to do so and make sure everyone is okay.
Exchange details with the other driver including the other driver’s name, their address, phone number, email, licence number, and their vehicle registration number.
Take photographs of all the damage.
Check if the other party has insurance and encourage them to lodge a claim as well. Take a note of their insurance company if they know it.
Collect the details of any witnesses.
Contact your insurer to lodge your claim.