Road Safety Week is coordinated annually by the charity Brake.  It involves thousands of people around NZ taking action for safer roads, including community groups, local councils, emergency services, organisations, schools and childcare centres. 

Why take part?  More than 1.3 million people worldwide die on roads every year.  In New Zealand, hundreds of people are killed and thousands more injured on our roads.  People who walk and cycle are especially vulnerable.  There are lots of people working to make our roads safer and we want to recognise them as part of Road Safety Week. 

Communities can play a vital role in making journeys safer and healthier for everyone and getting involved in Road Safety Week is a great way to do this.  There are lots of things that can be done to improve road safety at a local level, especially for our most vulnerable road users, including children and the elderly, and people who walk and cycle.

Road Safety Week is a great opportunity for us to talk about road safety and to help Brake campaign for safer roads and support families affected by road crashes.  The theme of Road Safety Week 2022 is Road Safety Heroes, celebrating the heroic work of everyone helping to improve road safety. 

We will be talking to the children about different Road Safety Heroes who help people make safe and healthy journeys and support people after a road crash.  We have also talked about how everyone can be a Road Safety Hero by using roads safely, to protect themselves and other people.  Children of all ages are at risk of being hurt or killed when walking near roads. 

On average, 19 children aged 14 and under are killed or injured on New Zealand roads every week.  We are doing our bit to try and make sure this never happens in our community.  Please help us by supervising your child closely on roads and continuing to teach road safety as you do. 

We are also encouraging children to shout out for road safety by asking their adults to help keep them safe near roads.  For children to walk safely in their communities, they need their journeys to be safe.  They need footpaths, cycle paths, safe places to cross, slow traffic and clean traffic. 

Remember these tips: 

• Always hold their hand when you walk near roads and cross roads at safe places 

• Help them ride their bike on safe paths away from traffic 

• Make sure they always sit in their special car seat when you travel by car 

• Drive at safe speeds and never use a phone while driving. 

Thank you for your support.