Sweden could be the key to lowering NZ's road toll

(File)
(File)

When it comes to our road toll, New Zealand doesn't measure up well.

Per capita we're worse than the UK, Singapore and Australia.

But it's Sweden we should be looking to for solutions: each year the country has just 2.8 road deaths per 100,000 people, compared to New Zealand's 6.

Here's why:

And it's worked: even as traffic volumes have increased, deaths have gone down dramatically.

Driver enforcement is also important, but Vision Zero is successful because it recognises that some people make mistakes, so road systems should be as protective as possible.

But the last part of the plan could be getting rid of drivers altogether - Volvo's planning to test 100 driverless cars in the city of Gothenburg in 2017.

Newshub.