Auckland city centre, West Auckland’s Henderson and Christchurch city centre have the highest vehicle collision rates in New Zealand.
That’s in AMI data revealing the 10 most collision prone suburbs, based on AMI Insurance motor claims data over 36 months between May 25, 2020 and May 25, 2023.
Other areas on the top 10 list include Albany, Glenfield, Mount Maunganui, East Tamaki, central Dunedin, Mount Wellington, and central Hamilton, the data revealing 40% of all collisions occur late in the day, between 1pm and 6pm.
“This rush hour period often sees grid lock and agitated driver behaviour,” says AMI claims executive general manager Wayne Tippet.
“Traffic can be frustrating, but you should always remain calm and alert to ensure you make smart, responsible decisions,” he adds.
“Interestingly, the second busiest period for collisions is late morning, which tends to be a much quieter time on the roads.
“Most of those collisions happen in car parks when shoppers are catching the quieter periods.
“We also see many claims during this period where drivers fail to stop or mistake a light as green for their lane. This points to the importance of remaining alert and conscious of safety, even if the roads are quieter.
“Often the late morning collisions are between drivers who have held a licence for more than a decade. Even if you have years of experience on the road, you should never become complacent behind the wheel.”
Friday is the riskiest day of the week on the road, with 16% of all collisions occurring then.
Thursday is second, followed by Wednesday, Tuesday, Saturday, Monday, and Sunday.
In the event of a collision, AMI recommends drivers stop where it is safe to do so and make sure everyone is okay, exchange details with the other driver including the other driver’s name, their address, phone number, email, licence number, and their vehicle registration number, take photographs of all the damage and to check if the other party has insurance and encourage them to lodge a claim also.
Take a note of the other driver’s insurance company if they know it, collect details of any witnesses, and contact your insurer to lodge your claim, AMI adds.
The 10 most common car collision places are Auckland City Centre (6505), Christchurch Centre (5046), Henderson (3916), Albany (3106), Glenfield (3029), Mount Maunganui (2987), East Tamaki (2889), Dunedin Centre (2843), Mount Wellington (2799), and Hamilton Centre (2633).
The worst cities are Auckland (33.9%), Christchurch (10.9%), Wellington (4.8%), Hamilton (4%), Tauranga (3.4%), Dunedin (2.7%), Lower Hutt (2.3%), Whangarei District (1.9%), Palmerston North (1.8%), and New Plymouth District (1.5%).
AMI motor vehicle claims relating to the time of day are 5am-10am (17.5%), 10am-1pm (24.9%), 1pm-6pm (40.7%), 6pm-10pm (13.3%) and 10pm-5am (3.6%).
With 90 years’ service in New Zealand, AMI is part of the largest general insurer in the country, IAG New Zealand which also trades under the State, NZI, NAC, Lumley, and Lantern brands.
