Obituary: Peter King

The NZ Automobile Association tragically lost staff member Peter King in November when he died suddenly at work during his routine lunchtime exercise regime.

King, pictured, was well-known in the transport research sector with connections made through his own research and via projects funded by the AA Research Foundation. 

During his 22 years with the AA’s advocacy team based in Wellington, he was the driving force behind the organisation’s extensive member surveying.

King tracked changes in members’ views on issues such as transport costs, emissions and alternatives to driving, traffic enforcement and road-safety concerns like speed limits and cellphone use.

The 62-year-old read widely and brought an insightful, interdisciplinary perspective to his work, influenced by his close observation of public opinion through his surveying. King published numerous think-pieces and policy documents, respected both within and outside the AA. 

He completed a BA in applied statistics later in life and kept up with ever-changing technology developments, including recently teaching himself the programming software called R. 

King was also a talented writer. He started his career as a journalist covering business, IT, science and technology, first as a senior reporter for the National Business Review then with The Dominion Post helping to produce the newspaper’s weekly Infotech section. 

Prior to joining the AA, he was managing editor at the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ for nine years. While with the AA, his writing on transport was shared with the public in many engaging feature articles published in AA Directions magazine. 

Outside of his work, he was a prolific social commentator with hundreds of LinkedIn followers. He also co-hosted a show on Access Radio on political and social issues for several years from 2015. 

In his spare time he wrote several novels, including his Changels series for young adults, published on Amazon. His creative talents extended to painting too, with some of his paintings selling at a recent public exhibition. 

King was quietly, but fiercely, competitive and revelled in outdoor exercise. He had a close-knit group of friends who shared his passion for running, mountain biking and general “boot-camp madness”. 

He was dearly loved by his wife of 22 years and four sons. He passed away on November 6. His funeral was held on November 13 at Hutt City Church in Lower Hutt, which was attended by family and his wide network of friends, AA colleagues and former colleagues. 

King was remembered by all as an engaging, clever and caring friend and father, someone with a brain the size of a planet who was always seeking new knowledge, full of interesting conversation and ideas, and with a youthful spirit.

About foundation

The AA Research Foundation was established in 2011 as a dedicated way for the association to invest more into road-safety research.

Sponsoring more research was a commitment the AA made as part of the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety (2011-20).

It has now invested $2.25 million over eight years into the AA Research Foundation, enabling it to commission a number of valuable projects. In addition, extra funding has been obtained for some projects jointly funded with other road-safety organisations.

The foundation’s governance structure has been set up to support its mission with a three-tiered structure involving expert steering committees, trustees and the AA’s national council. Each programme is overseen by an expert steering group.

Research it has completed includes comparing serious injury and fatal crashes, cycling safety at urban intersections, driving impairment, which has included projects on recidivist drink-driving and the use of alcohol interlocks, and Five-star Ecosafe Drivers, which investigated methods for improving drivers’ safety and fuel economy.

The foundation’s ongoing projects include a transport cost index. This tracks the affordability of different modes of transport over time, and monitors the cost effects of government policy and other market changes that have an impact on transport costs.

Then there’s real-world vehicle fuel consumption. Overseas studies have shown significant differences between some manufacturers’ fuel-consumption claims and real-world performance, says the AA, so its research foundation is funding work to better understand real-world fuel efficiency in New Zealand’s fleet. Click here to find out more about the programmes.