Fewer people are dying on Auckland’s roads, according to new figures compiled by Auckland Transport.

Twenty-seven deaths on local roads were recorded in the year to July 2024, down from 60 fatalities in the previous 12 month period.

Chief Executive Dean Kimpton said their focus was on local roads, where 90% of deaths and serious injuries occur.

The transport agency provides and maintains all of the Auckland region’s roads, except motorways and state highways.

Auckland Transport safety principal lead Ping Sim said they are cautiously optimistic the work they have been doing on safe infrastructure and speed limits, alongside record levels of road policing, have caused these deaths to fall.

Sim said it’s been a focus of theirs over the past few years, with road harm costing Auckland an estimated $2b per year.

The statistics follow a national trend in declining deaths on our roads.

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

The Government is making changes to national road safety policy, including reversing the previous

Labour Government’s blanket speed reductions on state highways and urban roads.

Many of the 3100 Auckland roads with speed reductions introduced in 2020 look set to be changed back.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said there would be exceptions, like outside schools during drop-off and pick-up hours, on main streets in town centres, and in areas with strong evidence to support reduced speed.

Auckland Transport will have until the end of 2025 to reverse speeds.

The agency has also put forward its new speed management plan for approval.

The Regional Transport Committee agreed to submit a reduced scope plan to the NZTA Director of Land Transport for certification.

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

It said the plan also aligns with local speed management requests.