High fuel cost contributes to lowest road toll since 1954 - Joyce
Police and Ministers applaud drivers for zero road toll.
Police and Ministers applaud drivers for zero road toll.
Government ministers have welcomed a record zero road toll over Queen's Birthday holiday weekend, saying a combination of enforcement and motorist behaviour is behind it.
The weekend road toll period started at 4pm on Friday and ended at 6am this morning.
Before this weekend the lowest road toll for Queen's Birthday was one death in 1956.
Police Minister Judith Collins said a reduced speed tolerance of 4kmh over the legal limit was partially responsible for the zero road toll.
There was the same intolerance for speeding last Queen's Birthday weekend when two people died.
Higher fuel prices help
Transport Minister Steven Joyce said it was hard to make a judgment based on one weekend, but so far this year the toll was relatively low.
He put that down to a combination of factors including advertising, stronger enforcement, rule changes and higher fuel prices.
The overall road toll for the year stands at 121 compared to 186 at the same time last year.