OC230512
04 July 2023
Paul Arthur
c/o FYI.org.nz
[FYI request #23038 email]
Tēnā koe Paul
I refer to your request via FYI.org.nz dated 07 June 2023, requesting under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act):
• the report or deliverables from the "investigations by December 2017 on the value of
mandating the following safety standards or technology for vehicles entering the fleet".
One document falls in scope of your request. This document is a New Zealand Institute of Economic
Research (NZIER) report to the Ministry of Transport received in October 2018, titled:
1.
Vehicle technologies and standards: a preliminary assessment for prioritization
This report is on our websit
e: transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Report/NZIER-Vehicle-
report.pdf
Accordingly, I am formally refusing your request for information under section 18(d) of the Act on the
grounds that the information you have requested is publicly available.
Context for the report
NZIER was requested to conduct an initial assessment of the benefits and costs of six vehicle
technologies and standards. The scope of the research was limited to a preliminary assessment of
the benefits and costs, and its purpose was to inform prioritisation of potential future research. The
research was not intended to directly lead to regulation and the results should not be treated as
robust enough to justify regulatory changes (or as evidence against change, where the report
suggests a feature may not be cost-beneficial).
NZIER identified significant information gaps in their research, making further research necessary
before strong conclusions were reached. Gathering more evidence to fill the information gaps is the
next step. We have already done this for some of the options, such as motorcycle anti-lock braking
systems (ABS) and light vehicle low-speed automatic emergency braking (AEB), but not every
feature or standard referenced in the report is of current active interest.
You may wish to note that further research found motorcycle ABS to be significantly more cost-
beneficial than this report, and ABS is now mandatory in motorcycles. More information about this
policy is available on our website:
transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/safety/anti-lock-braking-
systems-for-motorcycles/
More generally, our assessment of the cost-benefits of reducing road trauma has changed materially
since this report’s analysis. Now, the social cost of road trauma is estimated to sit at $13.349 million
per death and $1.315 million per serious injury. In contrast, Appendix B of the report lists these costs
as $4.179 million and $0.776 million, respectively. These changes have had a material effect on
associated vehicle safety requirement cost benefit analysis.
transport.govt.nz | hei-arataki.nz
HEAD OFFICE: PO Box 3175, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. PH: +64 4 439 9000
AUCKLAND OFFICE: NZ Government Auckland Policy Office, PO Box 106483, Auckland 1143, New Zealand. PH: +64 4 439 9000
In addition, as safety features become more common in overseas markets, the cost of these features
typically goes down in New Zealand as they become increasingly available here. Cost estimates for
some safety features analysed in the report will therefore have decreased since the report was
published.
Your rights in relation to this response
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of this response by the Ombudsman, in
accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can be found on the Ombudsman’s
websit
e www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Please note the Ministry publishes our Official Information Act responses and the information
contained in our reply to you may be published on the Ministry website. Before publishing we will
remove any personal or identifiable information.
Nāku noa, nā
Helen White
Manager, Mobility and Safety
Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport
transport.govt.nz | hei-arataki.nz
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