This New Year – Road Safety is Everyone’s Business
January 11, 2016
2016 will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst years in recent history for road crash fatalities in New Zealand.
However, the opportunity is looming to turn those statistics around by making New Year’s resolutions about our driving
patterns and playing a personal part in helping to reduce road trauma.
“It’s not about the numbers, it’s about individual people - mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents and friends,
who needlessly lose their lives, creating a lifetime of sorrow and grieving for those left behind” said Maria Lovelock,
Programme Manager of Road Safety Education Limited (RSE).
“We need to work together – the educators, government, the community, police and businesses and importantly every road
user to reduce the number of deaths on our roads. Even one death is one too many”.
Road Safety Education Limited, is a not for profit organisation, committed to reducing trauma on our roads by educating
Year 11 and 12 students through its flagship RYDA program.
It provides powerful workshops to change the way young people think about road safety.
RSE has strong support from corporate partners BOC, NZ Steel, Bosch, Bridgestone and The Alexander Group along with
Rotary Clubs, whose volunteers co-ordinate the program in their local area.
“While we watch heartbreaking stories of young people losing their precious lives, hoping it never involves our own
families. It’s time to take the pledge, make that New Years resolution, to improve our driving, stick to the rules, turn
that mobile phone off and leave it in the glove box when we’re driving” she added.
Parents teaching their children to drive have a very significant role to play in helping their young driver to stay safe
on the road.
“The best possible advice for any parent is to be a good role model for your learner driver.
“Don’t be the parent to take that quick phone call when driving or to have a couple drinks before getting behind the
wheel. How you drive as a parent will set the standard for the novice driver”.
Encourage people to take responsibility for driving safely because no one wants a friend or family member to be killed
or injured.
Let’s stop accepting death and serious injury as just part and parcel of using our roads.
“We want to avoid another year tarnished by road trauma and together we can do this starting with early, quality road
safety education for our youth”, said Lovelock.
Together we can all play our part in radically reducing the road toll and making 2017 a year to remember for all the
right safe reasons.
ends