The AA has suggested New Zealand police could follow the non-pursuit policy of their Queensland counterparts after a week where two people died in police chases here.
This morning, a 25-year-old man died in the Bay of Plenty during a police pursuit when he crashed into a tree, the second death this week in a chase following an incident in New Plymouth on Monday.
Mike Noon, AA Motoring Affairs General Manager, said the association was concerned by the number of pursuits and deaths and he urged all drivers to stop for police, who were in "a no-win situation".
"The advice to people is just don't do it (flee), it's not going to get any better. If you've been pulled over, stop," he said.
"At times, up to one in five cases of a driver fleeing police ends up in a crash so it's very, very dangerous."
"Police are only doing what they're supposed to do here.
With police in the middle of a review into pursuit policy, Mr Noon said it was time to look at all options around the policy, with Queensland's non-pursuit model one of interest.
"The fact that so many of these pursuits are ending in crashes and the number of deaths, it is timely for us to look at all the options we can to see whether there is a better way of doing it."
"Queensland in particular made the decision about five years ago not to pursue unless there was a particular risk to the public."
"If you had an example of someone with a gun or a machete in a shopping mall they would pursue that driver but if someone had a broken headlight and they fled police would take the registration and follow up."
"Our understanding is that in Queensland since they went to this non-pursuit model, there have been no fatalities from fleeing drivers."
A Queensland Police Service spokesman told Stuff last month that no deaths have been attributed to police pursuits since 2009.
Pursuits in the state are governed by the Safe Driving (Pursuits) Policy, which was put in place in 2011, though the policy has come under fire recently from critics in Queensland, who say it restricts the ability of police to enforce laws and protect communities.
Mr Noon understood there would be downsides to a non-pursuit policy but felt it was worth looking into from a road safety perspective.
"There may well be some other downsides of them following that model in terms of outcomes for police and for other safety or whatever but from a road safety perspective we think it is worthwhile to see whether that model would be applicable in New Zealand."
"Right now we have a rising road toll and a significant proportion of that is coming from fleeing drivers."
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