Take your time and get home safe this Road Safety Week

The Government is urging Kiwis to drive carefully and check their speed, Transport Minister Michael Wood said at the start of Road Safety Week.                

Michael Wood said despite the Government investing in safer roads, drivers still need to take care.                      

“We’ve installed nearly 300kms of safety barriers and 3,420kms of rumble strips to make our roads safer. We’re taking a balanced approach and investing in road policing, driver education, safety infrastructure and safer speeds to save lives.

‘Through our safety strategy Road to Zero, we’re aiming to reduce annual deaths and serious injuries by 40 per cent by 2030 - saving 750 lives and preventing 5,600 serious injuries.

“Tackling unsafe speeds is one of the priority actions in Road to Zero. Even when speed isn’t the direct cause, it still has an impact on how bad the outcome is in every crash.         

“We’re currently proposing to make it easier for local communities to set safe speed limits around schools to help kids get to and from school safely. This includes making streets outside schools safer by requiring speed limits around urban schools to be reduced to 30km/h, or to a maximum of 40 km/h where appropriate, and to a maximum of 60 km/h around rural schools.

“Road Safety Week is a reminder that everyone deserves to feel safe, whether they’re driving, walking or cycling - safer speeds are part of making our streets better and more attractive to get around,” Michael Wood said.