Following a head-on crash on the Crown Range last month, the Wānaka App can reveal details about the accident rate on the alpine road, which has been the site of six deaths in the past ten years.

The Wānaka App made an official information request to the NZ Police and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency asking about the accident and injury rates on the Crown Range, as well as the most common type of accidents there.

The figures from 2000-2023 show there have been five fatal accidents (and six deaths) on the road, all of them since 2013. 

Accident and injury figures

There have been 29 serious injury crashes; 118 minor injury crashes; and 308 non-injury crashes, adding to a total of 460 crashes, according to the data from Waka Kotahi.

There have been six deaths, 35 serious injuries and 176 minor injuries; adding to a total of 217 injuries in the past 20 years.

The Wānaka App asked what the main causes of accidents were on the Crown Range, and Crash Analysis System (CAS) data shows the crash contributing factors recorded for crashes identified 910 factors in crashes since 2000. (A crash is normally attributed to multiple contributing factors therefore there will be more factors than crashes.)

The most cited contributing factor was ‘road factors’, at 228.

Next was poor handling (172), inappropriate speed (114), and poor judgement (106).

Read more: Avoiding ‘oblivious, horrific’ driving on the Crown Range  

Drivers who use the Crown Range regularly often complain about drivers driving over the centre line, and CAS figures show there were 46 cases of ‘incorrect lanes or position’ and 34 of ‘position on road’.

Poor observation accounted for 53 factors.

The remaining factors were alcohol and/or drugs (34), miscellaneous factors (27), vehicle factors (26), failed to give way or stop (24), weather (23), fatigue (13), overtaking (7), disabled/old age/illness (2), and pedestrian factors (1).

A car abandoned on the Crown Range during winter. PHOTO: QLDC/Downer

The issue of speed 

The Crown Range is not a state highway, and the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has jurisdiction over it. The maximum open road speed limit of 100km/h (for light vehicles) applies all the way between Cardrona township and the bottom of Crown Terrace.

“QLDC is responsible for maintaining the Crown Range Road and related assets such as signage, road markings and chain bays/layby areas,” QLDC spokesperson Sam White told the Wānaka App. 

“When a serious crash occurs we work with emergency services and other organisations to understand what caused the crash and whether there is anything further we can do to improve safety.”

Waka Kotahi told the Wānaka App the Crown Range “is part of the top ten percent of the road network that would benefit from speed management”.

The Wānaka Police have previously lobbied the council to reduce the speed limit from 100kph to 80kph from south of Cardrona village to SH6.

The QLDC proposed a speed reduction to 60kph for a portion of the Crown Range during its review of its 2009 Speed Limits Bylaw in 2019.

Public submissions opposed the proposed reduction. One submitter said they were appalled at the suggestion of limiting the speed on the Crown Range, which would penalise “safe, experienced and competent drivers”.

Another said the proposed speed reduction would “cause further frustration”. 

“Safe pull over zones and passing lanes would make it safer as those who wish to travel faster won’t get stuck behind slow traffic and end up frustrated. The speed limit is not the issue; the congestion and variation in driving ability is.”

Vehicles are often seen crossing the middle line on the road. PHOTO: Supplied

Others suggested instead of reducing the speed limit, slow speed lanes (such as the one on the Luggate cutting) should be created to allow slower drivers to give way to drivers wanting to travel at the speed limit.

The QLDC decided against a reduction in speed for the road in the Speed Limits Bylaw 2019.

Crashes are likely under-recorded

Waka Kotahi said it believes non-fatal crashes are under-reported on the Crown Range, “with the level of under-reporting decreasing with the increasing severity of the crash”.

Crash severity is the severity of the worst injury in the crash. There may be more than one injury in a crash, so the crash and injury tables may have different numbers. 

Waka Kotahi also noted that during the Covid-19 restrictions from March 21, 2020 until December 2021 the amount of traffic on the road was reduced, consequently reducing the number of crashes. Data from this period does not align with previous trends.