Road safety heroes this Road Safety Week

Val Overweel with NZAA district councillor Trevor Scarrow outside the lit-up Royal Whanganui Opera House.

Horizons Regional Council is encouraging everyone to be road safety heroes this Road Safety Week - May 20-26, alongside Brake, the road safety charity.

Horizons’ road safety coordinator, Val Overweel, says across the country, hundreds of organisations, schools and community groups will be recognising the heroes who make our roads safer – from emergency services to road workers, school crossing patrols and others.

“We can all be road safety heroes. The first step is ensuring everyone in your vehicle is securely belted in, especially our babies and children, as they are counting on you to make sure they are safe.

“It’s important to have the right car seat fitted and installed correctly and checked regularly because this could reduce the injuries a child will sustain in a crash,” says Overweel.

“Children should be in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible, while all children under seven years of age must be in an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size.

“As a driver, you are responsible for ensuring anyone under the age of 15 is correctly restrained.

“We encourage drivers to be road safety heroes by ensuring that all your passengers are correctly restrained, not just for road safety week but every time you drive,” says Overweel.

“The colour for Road Safety Week is yellow, and you will notice the Royal Whanganui Opera House will be lit up in yellow to support Road Safety Week activities in Whanganui.

“This has been done with the support of Whanganui District Council,” says Overweel.

“The Horizons team will also be joining up with Whanganui District Council, NZ Police and Whanganui Green bikes at the Whanganui River Markets this Saturday, 25th May, from 8.30am until 1pm to provide advice to cyclists, walkers and scooter riders so they can easily be seen.

“This time of year, the days become shorter, so it’s important for cyclists, walkers and scooter riders to ‘be bright, be seen’ by drivers – keeping them safe when out on the road.

“Our stall will have some safety items to help these groups be seen, plenty of advice about keeping safe and tips to maintain or fix your bike,” says Overweel.

“We’re excited to also have St Anthony’s School promoting road safety with activities during the week.

“They have a colouring in and poster competition, a come to school in yellow day with a sausage sizzle and yellow cupcakes on the menu,” says Overweel.

“Road safety is truly a team effort and it’s great to see our community come together in this way to make positive change.

“Remember everyone can be a road safety hero.”

For car seat advice contact the Horizons Regional Council road safety coordinator on freephone 0508 800 800

■ Brake is a national road safety charity that works to prevent road deaths and injuries and support people bereaved and injured in crashes across New Zealand. Brake coordinates National Road Safety Week each year, https://www.roadsafetyweek.org.nz/