Three of Waipawa's road safety kids have recently gone missing, one mysteriously turning up a week later, while another is sporting a damaged ankle after being shifted off the roadside and struck by a vehicle.
The innovative speed warning signs - each is a cut-out image of a local child, with a speed safety message in a speech bubble - have been on traffic patrol on Waipawa's main road and on Harker Street opposite Waipawa School since November last year, as a way to remind drivers to slow down as they pass through the town.
The initiative was spearheaded by Waipawa parent and councillor Pip Burne, who started the "Hey you - slow down, Waipawa" Facebook page. Searching for ideas, she found the signs in use in other countries, but Waipawa's project has been a first for New Zealand.
Pip put out a call and several parents answered it, asking their children to be the faces of a road safety campaign. The children had their photos taken, then the signs were designed at nearly life-size and stands were made so they could be mounted roadside.
The signs are removable. Two are cared for by the school and the others have been adopted by Waipawa businesses that bring them in each night and put them out in the morning.