New Caledonia's minister in charge of road safety says the situation is improving despite a per capita fatal accident rate four times higher than in France.
Philippe Dunoyer says although there were three fatal crashes at the weekend, the trend since 2009 has been for fewer people dying on the road.
24 people have died this year in 22 incidents, which compared to last year is a 20 percent drop.
In almost half the accidents, excessive speed was a factor and in more than half the crashes the driver was under the influence of alcohol or cannabis.
Almost 70 percent of the victims didn't wear a seat belt.
