Hon Craig Foss
Associate Minister of Transport

8 October 2015
Media Statement

New road safety billboards for West Coast

Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss says the West Coast will soon get 12 new road safety billboards, in time for the influx of tourists expected this summer.

The billboards will have three messages: ‘Keep left’, ‘Your speed affects others, slow down’ and ‘Allow extra time on NZ roads’.

“The Government is committed to improving safety for all road users, regardless of where they’re from. Billboards are a simple yet effective way to get the message across,” Mr Foss says.

Five billboards will be installed along popular tourist routes in time for Labour Weekend, with seven to follow later in November. In addition to the billboards, 5000 road safety visitor information cards will be distributed to tourist operators.

The billboards are the latest initiative from the Visiting Driver Signature Project (VDSP) — a partnership between central government, local government and the private sector.

“Partners are working together to promote safe driving messages to tourists at all stages of their holiday — planning, booking, in-flight, arriving in New Zealand and on our roads,” Mr Foss says.

The VDSP, which was expanded earlier this year to include the West Coast, is part of the Government’s $3.2 billion road safety investment over the next three years, through the National Land Transport Programme. This includes road safety promotion, road policing, and building and maintaining safe roads and roadsides.

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