Government agencies are admitting failure in their attempts to make roads safer, with officials last year advising ministers a target to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 40 percent over a decade was unrealistic. The road toll has soared this year and is on par with 2018, the worst year for road deaths in recent memory. In documents sent to the police minister, Chris Hipkins, the police admitted they had “not met set Road to Zero targets for 2021”.