50 Victoria Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
3 September 2019
Josh Thompson
[FYI request #11037 email]
REF: OIA-5664
Dear Josh,
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email to the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) on 22 August 2019 requesting
information about the road around the intersection of State Highway 3 (Rangitikei Line, SH3) and the
Hansen Line near Palmerston North.
I will answer your questions as follows:
Table 1 provides the information you have requested in your first question as below:
Please provide information regarding all accidents that have happened within 500 metres of
the intersection of State Highway 3 (Rangitikei Line) and Hansen Line near Palmerston North,
in the past 10 years up until today.
Table 1
2009-2019* crashes within 500m of the intersection of SH 3 Rangitikei Line and
Hansen Line, Palmerston North
Total
fatal crashes serious crashes minor crashes
non-injury
crashes
crashes
2009
1
1
2
2010
1
1
2011
1
1
2
2012
1
1
2013
0
2014
1
1
2015
1
1
2016
0
2017
1
1
2018
1
1
2019*
1
1
Total
0
1
4
6
11
* 2019 data is incomplete and is current from CAS as at 26/08/2019
Table 2 provides the information you requested in your second question as below:
In particular the information I would like to know is what vehicle movements were prior to
these crashes (e.g. were opposing vehicles both using the passing lane or were turning
Table 2
2009-2019* crashes within 500m of the intersection of SH 3 Rangitikei Line and Hansen Line, Palmerston
North
Movement
CA
CB
CC
DJ
GC
GD
JA
Total
crashes
Out of
Stopped or
control on
Off roadway Off roadway
Lost control
turning from Near centre
Right turn
roadway
to left
to right
turning left
left side
line
right side
Count
1
3
1
1
1
1
3
11
* 2019 data is incomplete and is current from CAS as at 26/08/2019
It is important to note the following in relation to the information provided above:
• This data is provided from the road traffic crash database; Crash Analysis System (CAS)
version 1.3.3.
• NZTA maintains the Crash Analysis System which is updated once a Traffic Crash Report
(TCR) is received from NZ Police sometime after the crash.
• Data is for all crashes for the years 2009 to 2019 as recorded in CAS to date - 26/08/2019.
• Data is limited to Crashes within 500m of the intersection of SH 3 Rangitikei Line and Hansen
Line, Palmerston North.
• To be recorded in CAS a crash has to have occurred on a road. The CAS definition of a road
is any street, motorway or beach, or a place to which the public have access with a motor
vehicle, whether as of right or not e.g. a public car park.
• Due to the police reporting time frame and subsequent data processing there is a lag from the
time of a crash to full and correct crash records within CAS.
• Due to the nature of non-fatal crashes it is believed that these are under-reported, with the
level of under-reporting decreasing with the severity of the crash.
• 2019 data is incomplete and is current from CAS as at 26/08/2019.
In relation to your third question:
I would also like to know if NZTA has any plans to treat this intersection and/or passing lane
to prevent future accidents.
The Transport Agency is using the high-risk intersections guide to prioritise intersections by
examining crash histories and site characteristics, the guide can be found here
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/high-risk-intersections-guide/. Because this intersection
has a “Low” Intersection Risk Rating, there are no current plans to make improvements to this
intersection. However, we will continue to monitor its performance.
If you would like to discuss this reply with the NZ Transport Agency, please contact Kerry Greig,
Manager, Data Services, by email t
o [email address] .
Yours sincerely
Galina Mitchelhill
Senior Manager, Research & Analytics
