Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter says New Zealand could adopt a zero road death target by 2020. (File photo)

The Government will look at introducing a zero road death policy by 2020 as it strives to curb the country's "unacceptable" road toll.

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter made the announcement at the local government road safety summit in Wellington on Monday, telling guests local and central government needed to work together to make the ambition a reality.

"We need a new [road safety] strategy. We need a clear idea of the outcomes we want and the steps we need to take to get there," Genter told the 100 or so local government representatives at Wellington's Rydges Hotel.

A road block in place at the scene of a fatal crash in the Tasman District on Monday. There have been 115 deaths on New Zealand roads already this year.

"I believe this is a transformational Government. It is a Government that can set ambitious targets, whether on child poverty, on climate change, or road safety.

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"Clear, truly ambitious targets drive policy and help deliver meaningful change. That's why this Government will investigate adopting a target of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads."

Genter acknowledged general road safety targets could be hampered by community backlash to "specific safety projects in their backyards, such as median barriers and rumble strips". She called on local governments to "be brave enough to take the action that we know is going to save lives, and to bring the community with us".

"We can't let short-term objections slow us down."

While the target could be considered "audacious", all road deaths and serious injuries were avoidable, and New Zealanders had become "desensitised" to the rising casualties, Genter said.

The Government would also no longer refer to the "road toll", instead referring to "road deaths" to acknowledge the people who had lost their lives and the fact road deaths were not inevitable.

Countries including Canada, Sweden, and Norway had adopted a zero road death target and had far lower fatality rates than New Zealand, Genter said.

"Twenty years ago, Sweden had the same fatality rate that New Zealand has today.

"In that intervening period, Sweden adopted ambitious targets, invested heavily in safety infrastructure, set safer speed limits, and today they're one of the safest countries in the world.

"If New Zealand had the same rate of road deaths per head of population as Sweden, 255 New Zealanders who died last year on our roads would still be alive today."

The Government would also investigate possible new minimum standards for imported vehicles and assess whether changes to the graduated driver licensing system were working.

Genter criticised the previous National government for spending 25 per cent of its transport budget on roads that served just 5 per cent of daily vehicle trips.

She said while the Government had been criticised for scaling back state highway projects, that money could be spent on a "far greater number of kilometres of our network if we aren't focusing on just a few extremely expensive projects".

There were 380 road deaths last year, up from 327 the previous year.

Caroline Perry, director of road safety charity Brake, said New Zealand's road toll was horrific, and the increase over the past three years "must not continue".

"This week, just like every other week, more families will have to face an unexpected knock at the door from a police officer who's come to tell them that the person they love most in the world won't be coming home ever again because they have been suddenly, violently, needlessly killed in a road crash."The new road safety strategy would be finalised late next year, and implemented in 2020.

National transport spokesman Jami-Lee Ross said: "Tackling safety on our roads is important, and we don't disagree with a focus on this. Like the Government, we were proposing to do more to make roads safer as well.

"What is most different between us and the Government is that we would have continued investment in state highway improvements. In particular a key driver of our Roads of National Significance has been safety. They are our safest roads in the country, and we need to continue them.



"The Government's goal is laudable, and good on them from putting more money in.



"We disagree with the minister's argument that we were spending 25 per cent budget on roads with only 4 per cent usage. State highways carry around 50 per cent of total journeys.

"The Government has cut that budget by $5.35 billion in their GPS, and are putting that predominantly into Auckland trams."