Companies across the country have been calling for Streets for Life and Going Yellow as part of Road Safety Week (17 – 23 May 2021) to help save lives on our roads, as police figures reveal over 80,000 speed notices were issued around schools in 2020 [1].

This year is the 10th Road Safety Week New Zealand. It is coordinated by Brake, sponsored by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, and supported by Beca alongside other partner organisations. This year the week coincides with the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week, and the focus is on speed, with the Streets for Life theme the same for both the NZ and UN weeks. Thanks to Vector Lights and the Yellow Ribbon Road Safety Alliance, the Auckland Harbour Bridge will also shine yellow for the week, along with a number of other icons around the country, to raise awareness of road safety.

One in four people killed on New Zealand roads were in a crash where someone drove too fast for the conditions [2]. In 2020, travelling too fast for the conditions was a contributing factor in 79 fatal crashes and 424 serious injury crashes [3].

Speeding around schools is particularly dangerous as it puts children, who are unable to effectively judge vehicle speeds, in danger [4]. In 2020, there were over 4,000 officer issued speed notices, and over 80,000 speed camera notices for speed offences near schools during school hours [5].

Communities around the country will be learning about why speed is a key road safety issue, what can be done to reduce harm from speed-related crashes, and in particular why 30km/h is the most appropriate speed in places where people live, work, learn and play.

The forces involved in crashes are a key reason why 30km/h speed limits are important. For a pedestrian or cyclist hit at 50km/h, the force is equivalent to falling from the third floor of a building. At 30km/h a driver has a much better chance of stopping in time and avoiding a crash, and if the worst happens, people have a far greater chance of surviving [6].

Organisations, schools and childcare centres will be reminding drivers to keep well below speed limits, particularly around schools and in communities, and to remember the 20km/h limit for passing a school bus. School children around the country will be making posters and banners to be displayed outside school reminding drivers to slow down, and dressing in yellow to raise awareness.

The Yellow Ribbon Alliance, a group of organisations committed to raising awareness of road trauma in New Zealand, is promoting use of the colour yellow to highlight road safety and show a personal commitment to safer roads. Road Safety Week participants will Go Yellow and show their support by wearing yellow/ a yellow ribbon pin, or by displaying a yellow ribbon, and the public are encouraged to join in and show their support.

Caroline Perry, Brake’s NZ director, said: "Speed is a key factor in all crashes. Whilst it might not have caused the crash, it will be a factor in determining the outcome. Even small increases in speed can mean the difference between life and death. When drivers use roads without care for others the consequences can be tragic and horrific, with people killed and badly injured. At Brake we witness the suffering that results, through our work supporting people affected by road death and injury. It can also mean people don’t feel safe to walk and cycle, actively getting out and about in their community. That’s why this Road Safety Week is calling for Streets for Life, because everyone deserves to move around safely. We’re proud to also support the UN Global Road Safety Week, and particularly to highlight the importance of 30km/h limits in places where people live, work, learn and play.”

Waka Kotahi Director of Land Transport Kane Patena says: “Waka Kotahi is proud to sponsor Road Safety Week, as we are fully committed to Vision Zero, a vision for Aotearoa where no one is killed or seriously injured on our roads, with an initial target of a 40 percent reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2030. To reach that target we need to address every part of the transport system. We need safe vehicles, safe drivers, safe roads with safe speeds. Even when speed isn’t the direct cause, it most often determines whether a person is killed, seriously injured, or unharmed in a crash, and that’s especially the case for crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians.

“Road Safety Week is a timely reminder that everyone deserves to feel safe while they travel - and safe speeds are key.”

Police is pleased to support Road Safety Week 2021.

Superintendent Steve Greally, Director Road Policing says: “Police expect people to drive safely within the legally posted speed limit and depending on the conditions that may be slower than the limit. In the last five years, at least 3,165 people have died or were seriously injured in crashes where speed was identified as a contributing factor (2015-19). This is about 22 per cent of all fatal and serious crash injuries. However speed is a trauma aggravating factor in almost all single and multiple vehicle crashes resulting in serious injury or death regardless of the cause. Slow down.”

“Working together to deliver safer journeys for all transport users, and to reduce the devastating impact to our communities from deaths and serious injuries on our roads is incredibly important to us,” says Andrea Rickard, New Zealand General Manager - Transport and Infrastructure at Beca. “Whether through community partnership or a design, engineering or advisory services solution, we are proud to support Aotearoa’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy - and the goal that no one is killed or seriously injured in road crashes.”

Bryan Sherritt, Auckland Transport’s Executive General Manager of Safety, says streets need to be safe for all people.

“The high rate of death and serious injury occurring on Tāmaki Makaurau roads is tragic and horrifying - especially when compared to cities in other developed countries.

“Working with our road safety partners, like Brake NZ, we aim to realise our Vision Zero goal of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 2050. This will also make a substantial contribution to central government’s Road to Zero strategy.”

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says, “Deaths and serious injuries on our roads remain at unacceptably high levels and the associated human, social and economic costs are huge.

“Road Safety Week is a reminder of our commitment to making our roads safer, and it’s good to see the Vector Lights on Auckland’s iconic Harbour Bridge light up to promote road safety.”

Facts on speed

Driving is the most dangerous thing most of us do on a regular basis: you're operating a potentially dangerous machine in an unpredictable, public environment, so it requires full concentration at all times.

· Speed is a critical factor in all road crashes and casualties. It is estimated that for every 1mph (2km/h) reduction in average speeds, crash rates fall by an average of 5% [7].

· Between 2017 – 2019, 48% of young people aged 15-19 killed in a crash were in crashes where speed was a causal factor. 41% of 20 – 24 year olds killed were in speed-related crashes. [8]

Key advice for drivers

· On all roads, keep well below speed limits – it’s a limit not a target.

· Slow down in school zones, around road works, and in communities at all times.

· Passing school buses: either way its 20km/h.

· Come to a complete stop at intersections and double check for children.

· Slow down and double check for people at pedestrian crossings, particularly in school zones.

To find out more or take part in Road Safety Week, go to www.roadsafetyweek.org.nz.

[1] 2020 figures from NZ Police, accessed May 2021

[2] Speed: annual statistics 2019, Ministry of Transport, 2021 [www.transport.govt.nz/statistics-and-insights/safety-annual-statistics/sheet/speed#element-1034]

[3] Waka Kotahi CAS system, 2021 *Note: Crash data for 2020 is not yet complete. Data is for all crashes reported by the Police to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for the year 2020 as recorded in CAS at 5/03/2021

[4] Traffic at 30mph is too fast for children’s visual capabilities, University of Royal Holloway, London, 2010

[5] 2020 figures from NZ Police, accessed May 2021

[6] World Resources Institute, 2017

[7] Speed, Speed Limits and Accidents, Transport Research Laboratory, 1994

[8] Speed: annual statistics 2019, Ministry of Transport, 2021 [www.transport.govt.nz/statistics-and-insights/safety-annual-statistics/sheet/speed#element-1034]

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