Road traffic injury hospitalisations lower in 2024, but inequalities remain

Posted 47 hours ago by Default Admin Less than a minute to read

We have published an updated Road traffic injury hospitalisations surveillance report, authored by Kirsty Craig. Here are the key findings:

In 2024, there were 4,070 road traffic injury hospitalisations in New Zealand. The hospitalisation rate was 72.0 per 100,000 people, down from 77.1 per 100,000 in 2023.
Hospitalisation rates were highest for males, Māori, people aged 15–24 years and 85 years and over, and those living in more socioeconomically deprived areas.
Māori continued to experience significantly higher road traffic injury hospitalisation rates than other ethnic groups.
Motorcyclists had a much greater risk of injury than users of other transport modes when travel time and distance were taken into account.
Residents of rural areas were nearly twice as likely to be hospitalised for a road traffic injury as residents of major urban areas.
Northland had the highest road traffic injury hospitalisation rate in 2024, while Capital and Coast had the lowest.

You can read the full surveillance report here.