Horizons Regional Council is supporting Streets for Life this Road Safety Week

Horizons Regional Council is taking part in Road Safety Week (17-23 May) which is coordinated by Brake and sponsored by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

 

Horizons’ road safety coordinator Debbie Webster says this year Road Safety Week coincides with the UN Global Road Safety Week which focuses on speed as a road safety issue and is calling for Streets for Life in communities.
 
“In New Zealand hundreds of organisations, schools and community groups will be sharing the what, why and where of speed, because whether you’re walking to school, riding on a rural road, or driving to work, the speed of traffic matters to your safety,” says Ms Webster.
 
“Speed is important because it plays a part in most deaths and injuries on our roads. The formula is simple: the higher the speed, the bigger the impact and the greater the risk of death and injury.”
 
Brake, a road safety charity, say that speed matters for everyone’s health and safety and wellbeing. By taking part in Road Safety Week people can help inspire others to learn what safe speeds are, schools can teach young people about how their local streets can have safer speeds, and organisations can step up their policies and procedures to ensure employees always travel at speeds that are safe and appropriate for the roads.
 
“People are encouraged to “Go Yellow” throughout Road Safety Week, to raise awareness of road safety by wearing yellow or displaying a yellow ribbon.
 
Brake NZ director Caroline Perry says everyone can get involved by taking part in Brake’s national survey about the safety of the streets where they live. Brake will use the findings in its work to make roads safer. The survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/safestreetsnz2021.
 
“In a crash, just 1km/h can mean the difference between life and death, but sadly we know that many people still regularly break the speed limit or travel too fast for the conditions of the road. With people injured and killed on our roads every week, and vehicle speed playing a part in every crash, it’s never been more important that we make sure our streets are Streets for Life,” says Ms Perry.
 
Find out more about Road Safety Week. Tweet your support: @brakenewzealand, #RoadSafetyWeek


About Brake
 
Brake is a national road safety charity that promotes road safety and campaigns against the carnage on New Zealand roads. It does this by running a number of initiatives including a service for fleet and road safety professionals. Brake coordinates national Road Safety Week each year. It is also fundraising to improve support for families bereaved and injured in road crashes. To support Brake, go to www.brake.org.nz. Support books for children and adults bereaved in road crashes are available for free to families by contacting Brake on info@brake.org.nz or 021 407 953.
 
Brake was founded in the UK in 1995, and now has domestic operations in the UK and New Zealand, and works globally to promote action on road safety.
 
Road crashes are not accidents; they are devastating and preventable events, not chance mishaps. Calling them accidents undermines work to make roads safer, and can cause insult to families whose lives have been torn apart by needless casualties.