Media Release

7 May 2007

Uncompromising stance on road safety

Waitakere is continuing its uncompromising stance on road safety – with schools being targeted by the council and local police to ensure our children are travelling safely.

Last week, in connection with World Road Safety Week the council together with the police began conducting checkpoints and patrols outside local schools focusing on seatbelt compliance.

Waitakere’s road safety coordinator Kitch Cuthbert says the city will not just be conducting a road safety week but rather a road safety year.

“Waitakere is determined to increase road safety and what better way to do this than by targeting the people who are transporting our most precious resources - our children,” says Ms Cuthbert.

“Children and young people are massively over-represented in road casualty statistics and so that’s where our focus will be."

“It was a real positive to see so many people wearing their seatbelts and taking their safety seriously,” she says.

There will be increased patrols and checkpoints outside Waitakere’s schools for the rest of the year.

Further, the Waitakere City Council has just successfully implemented 40km/ph school zones outside two more of its primary schools.

Woodlands Park Primary and Henderson Valley School will soon both have 40km/ph speed limits on the roads outside the schools.

“Slowing cars down around schools when children are there is just commonsense,” says Ms Cuthbert, “Waitakere will hopefully have these speed restrictions at all of its schools in the near future.”

According to the United Nations road accidents kill 1.2 million people throughout the world every year, while millions more are seriously injured.

“They [road accidents] are the second leading cause of death for people aged five to 25 years, with devastating impact on families and communities,” says Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations.

ENDS

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