Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
Transporting New Zealand is backing Road Safety Week (4-10 May), coordinated by the road safety charity Brake with sponsorship from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and Beca. The theme of the week is Be a Road Safety Hero.
“The road is the workplace for New Zealand’s 30,000 truck drivers, making Road Safety Week a really important initiative for our sector,” says Chief Executive of Transporting New Zealand, Dom Kalasih. “It’s up to us all to make good choices on our roads to ensure we all get home safe.”
Kalasih says that the death of 18 people in road crashes in just ten days last month highlights the importance of taking road safety seriously.
“The annual road toll has declined each year since 2022, that is a positive outcome, but we still need to see improvements in people’s attitudes to road safety, particularly around restraints, impairment, distraction and speed (RIDS).”
“There is clear evidence that the right investments save lives. That includes safer road designs with median barriers and bypasses, tackling drug and alcohol-impaired driving, and the use of vehicle safety technologies like ABS, electronic stability control, and managing driver fatigue and distraction better.”
“However, technology is no substitute for good driving. Wearing seatbelts, driving to the speed limit and weather conditions, staying focused and pulling over if you’re tired are critical safety measures,” says Kalasih.
“We’re proud to be part of Road Safety Week and to help spread the message that road safety is everyone’s responsibility, every day.”
Transporting New Zealand, with support from NZTA and NZI, also lead regular rollover prevention workshops to address an issue involved in around a third of heavy vehicle crashes.
Since 2015, more than 6,000 people have taken part around the country, learning practical skills to reduce the risk of truck rollovers on New Zealand’s often challenging roads. Workshops are currently being scheduled for the upper North Island and mid-upper South Island between May and July.
People are encouraged to take part in Road Safety Week by Going Yellow, recognising local Road Safety Heroes, and reminding others that small actions can save lives.
Caroline Perry, NZ director at Brake, said: “Everyone should be able to get around in safe and healthy ways, every day. There are lots of people who work to make our roads safer, to save lives when crashes happen, and to support those affected by crashes. This year in Road Safety Week we want people to join us in acknowledging all those who work to save lives on roads across the country – and recognise that we can all be road safety heroes by using roads safely and taking actions for road safety in our families, schools, communities and where we work.”