New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) statistics for the year to June 30 show 354 people were killed or injured on the roads in Dunedin.
This meant the city had a higher per capita crash rate than Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Acting Southern road policing manager Senior Sergeant Steve Larking said Dunedin's figure was ''unacceptable''.
All crashes reported to police in Dunedin and the wider Southern district were recorded by way of a traffic crash report and the information given to NZTA for analysis.
''Southern police traditionally have a high reporting and attendance rate to crashes ... police and our partners are working hard to reduce crash rates in Dunedin and the Southern area.''
That was shown in the number of people killed or seriously injured on Dunedin roads during the past five years, which peaked at 123 in 2009 but stood at 72 so far this calendar year, including five fatalities.
Sgt Larking noted that Dunedin had less traffic than the other larger centres, and more traffic using the roads meant slower speeds, resulting in fewer crashes.
''Dunedin drivers need to ensure that they concentrate on driving safely, obey the road rules. We all want to get to our destination safely.''
Asked what Dunedin drivers should be doing better, he replied they need to ''concentrate on the task of driving, don't be distracted, turn off the cellphones, obey the road rules and always drive to the conditions''.
The NZTA statistics show the highest number of crashes in the city in a month was recorded in June this year with 38, followed by August 2012 and November 2012, with 35 each.
