KEY POINTS:
Award-winning transport safety initiative Ola Fa'asaoina - to save lives - is the brainchild of Samoan church congregations in Auckland.
Ola Fa'asaoina is one of the winners of ACC's New Zealand Community Safety and Injury Prevention Awards.
It began in July 2005 after church members from Henderson and Ranui congregations in West Auckland were repeatedly ticketed while attending services.
They contacted fellow churchgoer Constable Fagaesea Siaki of the Henderson Police, and the Waitakere City Council, for help.
"Worshippers were getting tickets but they didn't understand why and didn't know what to do with them," Mr Siaki said. "We worked together to develop solutions, which included the council implementing parking restrictions to make parking more accessible to church members."
The initiative was so successful that the two congregations decided to tackle other road safety issues, such as driving without a licence and using restraints for children riding in a car.
A lack of information and language barriers meant it was often difficult for the community to understand the relevant rules, Mr Siaki said.
The church set up a committee that included representatives from ACC, the police, Land Transport NZ, Plunket and the Waitakere City Council.
Initiatives included training bilingual driver licensing tutors and offering cheaper learn-to-drive courses.
The church also signed a memorandum of understanding with ACC that allowed the corporation to work more closely with this community on road safety and injury prevention initiatives.
"We've had staggering results, with 116 church members achieving their learner's licence, 42 have gone on to achieve their restricted licence and there's been an increase in the use of car child restraints, from 74 per cent to 96 per cent," Mr Siaki said.
- NZPA
