Auckland Transport safety director Ping Sim said they were cautiously optimistic that work on safe infrastructure and speed limits, combined with record-high levels of road policing, had contributed to the fall in fatalities.

Sim said this has been a priority for them for several years, with road damage costing Auckland about $2 billion a year.

These statistics confirm the nationwide trend of decreasing deaths on our roads.

NZTA data from January to early September shows there were 234 deaths in 2022, 229 in 2023 and 184 deaths in 2024.

The Government is introducing changes to national road safety policy, including reversing the previous Labor government’s decision to impose a blanket speed limit on state motorways and urban roads.

Many of Auckland’s 3,100 roads that saw speed cuts introduced in 2020 will likely revert to their previous limits.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said there would be exceptions, such as outside schools during drop-off and pick-up times, on main streets in city centres and in areas where there is a strong case for reducing the speed limit.

Auckland Transport will have to reduce the speed by the end of 2025.

The agency also submitted a new speed management plan for approval.

The Regional Transport Commission has agreed to submit a limited scope plan to NZTA’s Director of Land Transport for certification.

The agency said it had previously consulted on the plan in 2023, so it would only include changes to the government’s draft speed rules, such as variable speed limits outside school gates.

He added that the plan was in line with local speed management requirements.