Regional Transport Committee Road Safety Report July to December 2015

Transcription

1 Regional Transport Committee Road Safety Report July to December 2015 AREA: Palmerston North and Manawatu ROAD SAFETY COORDINATOR: Desley Monks COMMUNITY FOCUSED ACTIVITIES 1. Restraints Car seat checking clinics have been run in both Palmerston North and Feilding during 2015, in conjunction with Police and Plunket. Results have been varied with the most common fault being incorrect installation. A primary school, in-classroom programme, has been implemented targeting younger children to educate them about the 148cm safety height recommendation for car seats. Information is provided to the children to take home to caregivers/parents. Back page newspaper advertising over the holiday period reinforced the need for correctly installed car seats and provided contact details for public information. 2. Intersections One focus for intersections has been educating people on the correct way to navigate in and out of a roundabout. A postcard size resource has been designed with picture and text explaining the legal and safe way to enter and leave a roundabout. These postcards were distributed to local petrol stations by Police. Back page newspaper and radio advertising reinforced this safety message to provide maximum impact. Information packs including New Zealand Transport Agency (Transport Agency) information printed in seven different languages were delivered to motels and hotels in Palmerston North and Feilding to be distributed to overseas guests. This information highlighted the differences in driving in New Zealand compared to other countries with emphasis placed on the dangers on country roads.

2 3. Alcohol A Don t Drink & Drive campaign was launched to coincide with the Christmas/holiday period. This included newspaper and radio advertising reminding people about the lower blood alcohol limit and the need to plan ahead before going out. Local pubs were provided with posters and pens with the Great Mates Drive Sober message, to give away to patrons. Public Health, ACC and Horizons joined forces to send Host Responsibility information out to local businesses to support them in ensuring staff were safe during the festive period. Cinema advertising covering the same educational messages ran over December/January. 4. Young High Risk Drivers The Traffic Offenders Education Diversion Scheme (TOEDS), hosted by Police, was run in September and October with positive feedback and an average of 12 people at each session. These sessions provide a one off opportunity to have minor traffic offences waivered, after attending and participating in a two hour road safety education session. Teachers, parents and students from Palmerston North Girls High School, Feilding High School and Awatapu College participated in surveys regarding driver licence education being implemented into the schools curriculum. A Corrections Department Road Safety education event was held involving 60 offenders with predominantly road safety offences, working through a series of education sessions and viewing a simulated crash. All participants were provided with information to take away and feedback was gathered. A road safety education event was also held at Manawatu Prison for low risk prisoners, based on the Corrections Day event. Plunket, Fire, Police and St John supported both these events.

3 Horizons Road Safety Coordinator attended the Massey Flatting Expo for students and provided road codes and driver licence information. Horizons Road Safety Coordinator attended the Institute of the Pacific United New Zealand, formerly International Pacific College (IPU) orientation and provided information and support to new students to IPU and to Palmerston North. The possibility of road safety brochures in different languages is being investigated. Mara Automotive ran a road safety session for students. This session was supported by Police and Horizons. 5. Older Road Users Information packs to support older drivers and their families discuss safe driving practices were distributed through the Primary Health Organisation (PHO) to all General Practices in the area. The key focus was encouraging older drivers to identify the time when they need to hang up their keys and that this can be a transition process. This information also assists doctors to have conversations with their older patients about driver safety. These packs have also been distributed to retirement villages and newspaper and radio advertising supported this campaign. The Regional Mobility Scooter event was held in Palmerston North. This annual event gets mobility scooter users from across the region together and provides an opportunity to promote good safety practices and provide educational material. 6. Vulnerable Road Users Young Cyclist of the Year events were held in Palmerston North and Feilding districts with winners from each competing in the Regional event. This event is very popular and the uptake from schools has increased in recent years. The district event involves practical cycle skills and a theory test with the regional event including on road cycling. Newspaper and radio advertising supported the 40kmph speed change outside of Palmerston North schools during drop off and pick up times. This advertising was also promoted by bus back advert. The Police and Sport Manawatu provide cycle safety in schools and these sessions are supported by Horizons Road Safety. Courtesy Crossing campaigns have been held in conjunction with Police in both Palmerston North and Feilding, at high risk areas, to increase awareness of the safe way to use a Courtesy Crossing.

4 7. Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) RSAP meetings were held in September for both Palmerston North City Council and Manawatu District Council. Both were well attended by Police, ACC, the Territorial Authorities and the Transport Agency. EXTERNAL PROGRAMME PROVIDERS 8. Plunket Plunket are contracted to provide restraint checking clinics in conjunction with Police throughout the Horizons region. Car seat compliance and non-compliance figures are recorded in each area Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) and used for future planning. Plunket also provides assistance to Police and Horizons Road Safety for the 148cm inschool restraint programme. 9. IHOW The IHOW Caravan provides learner licencing education by using a visual tool. This is helpful to anyone with English as a second language or with literacy issues, although it is used by a wide sector of the population. Feedback from the community and Police is consistently positive with an average of 150 people using the caravan per month. 10. Literacy Feilding Literacy Feilding teaches driver licencing education from learners through to restricted. They work in conjunction with a local driver instructor to gauge how many clients are continuing through to full licence achievement. The majority of their clients are people with English as a second language who often need a drivers licence to gain employment. 11. Sport Manawatu The external funding provided to Sport Manawatu supports the employment of a cycle safety instructor who works with Police assisting cycle training in schools and ensures safety education is applied to all cycle safety activities supported by Horizons Road Safety. AREA: Horowhenua and Tararua ROAD SAFETY COORDINATOR: Debbie Webster Community Focused Activities 1. Intersections Tararua and Horowhenua Surveys on driver behaviour were conducted at intersections in Levin during September Similar to previous years the main infringement is drivers not indicating correctly at roundabouts and not coming to a complete stop at stop signs. Of the 404 drivers surveyed over a one hour period at two roundabout locations, 227 failed to indicate correctly. As a follow on from the surveys, full page advertisements designed to educate the public were submitted to the local papers in Horowhenua and Tararua. These focused on the intersection rules as well as the correct way to indicate at roundabouts. Good Call, Bad Call was undertaken in Levin, in partnership with local Police. This activity was carried out at roundabouts with drivers being rewarded with a small gift (i.e. pen, lip balm) for doing the correct thing while those doing the wrong thing were reminded about the rules and warned about the $150 fine and demerit points they could incur. All drivers received the Horizons Take a second look at intersections and Indicate Out leaflets which explain what the rules are around intersections.

5 2. Alcohol Tararua and Horowhenua Activities were undertaken in both districts to coincide with the Rugby World Cup in 2015 as well as the festive season. Horizons and Police teamed up to promote the lower blood alcohol content with a number of operations taking place. SADD (Students Against Dangerous Driving) assisted with handing out information packs. Over 1,700 information packs were distributed to motorists during this time. A series of adverts were designed to coincide with the Rugby World Cup event. These focused on the Great Mates Drive Sober message and were placed in local papers. The media has also been used to promote R U Over It and Drive to Survive Under.05 messages. Tararua College SADD students assisting at a Booze Bus operation in Pahiatua during December Young High Risk Drivers Horowhenua 3.1. Traffic Offences Education Diversion Scheme (TOEDS) The road safety coordinator assisted the Levin Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) by facilitating the TOEDS workshop in Levin during October The scheme targeted drivers in Levin who were ticketed for driving infringements during the month leading up to the workshop. These included running orange lights, failing to give way or stop at a stop sign, not wearing a seatbelt and licence breaches. Drivers were given the opportunity to attend a two-hour educational workshop which on completion allowed them to apply to have their ticket waived. Young high risk drivers were our target group and approximately half of those attending were in this group. However the Horowhenua District has high crash statistics around intersections, so the workshop was opened up to other drivers who had also been ticketed. Due to a high uptake for the workshop with fifty eight drivers and four support people registering on the night, the evening had to be broken into two sessions. The outcome from this workshop is that the NPT team continues to work with those drivers who need assistance obtaining the correct drivers licence.

6 TOEDS education workshop (Taitoko School, Levin), October Students Against Dangerous Driving (SADD) Students from Dannevirke High School and Tararua College were supported with their activities during National SADD month in September The theme for the month was Remember September. Activities included a static display, booze goggles, and face to face engagement with students around high risk driving issues. Supporting SADD allows us to connect with young drivers through their peers. Tararua College SADD team Safe teen advertising A series of Safeteen advertisements were placed in the local newspapers during October targeting parents by encouraging them to stay involved while their teen is learning to drive. This was aimed at complimenting the New Zealand Transport Agency advertising theme for young drivers during the same month.

7 3.4. Young Driver Road Code packs The Road Safety Coordinator has worked with the Justice Department and Tararua REAP in a pilot scheme to support high risk drivers presenting at Dannevirke Court for driving infringements. Tararua REAP provided one-on-one assistance to help these young people attain their correct licence and Horizons Road Safety provided New Zealand Road Codes and other road safety information. The scheme ran from July to December 2015 and is currently being evaluated due to the small number going on to complete the programme by attaining their correct licence in the specified time. Secondary schools in Tararua and Horowhenua have also been approached with an offer to provide New Zealand Road Codes and other information for students who are wanting to obtain their driver licence. There has been some uptake on this offer by some schools. 4. Restraints Tararua and Horowhenua 4.1. Child Restraints Child restraint checks were carried out in both Tararua and Horowhenua Districts during November 2015 in conjunction with Plunket and Police. In the Tararua, which included locations in Dannevirke, Woodville and Pahiatua, 163 child restraints were checked. Ninety six were incorrectly installed and needed to be corrected. In Levin, eighty four child restraints were checked with forty six being incorrectly installed and thereby needing to be corrected.

8 5. Fatigue - Tararua 5.1. Fatigue Stop Woodville A fatigue stop operation was undertaken leading up to Wellington Anniversary Weekend in January 2016, with support from Police, Students Against Dangerous Driving and local volunteers. The operation ran from 4.30pm until 6.30pm. Over 700 information packs (promoting messages about driving tired, speed, and intersection safety) as well as 600 bottles of water were distributed to drivers in the two hour period. This activity coincided with a media release and advertisement in the newspapers. A motorist having just been breathalysed is handed an information pack and bottle of water during the Woodville Fatigue Stop in January Vulnerable road users - Horowhenua 6.1. Gottcha Safe Cycling Term 4, 2015 saw Horowhenua Blue Light, Levin Police, Horizons Road Safety and Southend Cycles partner together to promote safe cycling for primary age children in the Horowhenua. Cycling is the ideal foundation for learning the road rules and provides a grounding for young people in the road environment before progressing onto obtaining a drivers licence. The Gottcha safe cycling initiative involved Police catching primary school age students doing the right thing when riding their bikes and giving them a Gottcha card. These cards were then taken to school and the student went into the draw to win a prize at the end of the week. All those who participated were then eligible for the main prize draw of a new bike which was held at the end of the 4 th term. The result of this initiative has been that it has encouraged good relationships between Police and young people while at the same time, teaching them correct cycling skills and practices. 7. Older road users - Horowhenua 7.1. Age on the Go Expo Levin The Road Safety Coordinator held a display at the Expo and ran a competition on intersection rules based on the New Zealand Road Code. There was a total of eighty one

9 information packs taken by those visiting the Horizons site. The quiz contained sixteen questions about intersection rules. Of the thirty one entries in the competition there were only four who had all answers correct. Of the twenty seven incorrect entries, nineteen had more than two answers incorrect with some having up to six incorrect. Those entering the competition were able to check their answers before submitting them. For those getting them wrong, the opportunity to discuss the correct answer was invaluable as it meant they went away with the correct information Wheeled Pedestrians (Mobility Scooter Users) The Road Safety Coordinator was approached by the Levin NPT team and Summerset Retirement Village to assist with education around the correct use of Mobility Scooters. Approximately twenty five older persons who use mobility scooters attended the day. 8. External Programme providers 8.1. Horowhenua Age Concern Horowhenua Age Concern delivers the Staying Safe and Hanging Up Your Car Keys (HUCK) programmes for older drivers in Horowhenua. They have run two Staying Safe courses and one HUCK course so far and are now reaching out to volunteer drivers through the Cancer Society and Horowhenua Health Shuttle. The Road Safety Coordinator continues to provide information packs for these courses Woodville Lions Coast to Coast The Road Safety Coordinator uses the Coast to Coast motorcycle event each year as an opportunity to promote motorcycle safety to a target audience. This year the focus was again about Be Safe, Be Seen with riders being encouraged to wear hi-viz and in doing so, they had the opportunity to win petrol vouchers. Other safety messages promoted on the day were aimed at fatigue and speed. All riders registering for the ride were given information packs at Himatangi. 290 riders registered for the ride. The Road Safety Coordinator was unable to be present at the event this year so numbers of those wearing hiviz are unavailable Arohamai Aotearoa Literacy Inc. Arohamai currently runs a Drivers Licence Mentoring programme in Levin. From 1 st January 2016, they amalgamated with Horowhenua Adult Literacy Services to become Arohamai Literacy Horowhenua. There has been no change to the delivery of their services as they continue to run the programme under their new name. The first two modules of the programme were delivered from July to September and October to November A total of fifteen young people in the year age group attended the first two programme modules. From the fifteen drivers, seven sat their restricted license test with six passing. Eight were not ready to sit the practical restricted test stating no money to sit the test and still saving, or still not confident enough behind the wheel and needing more practical time. Arohamai continues to work with these people. The next two modules are due to run from February to March and April to June 2016.

10 AREA: Wanganui and Rangitikei ROAD SAFETY COORDINATOR: Glenda Leitao Community Focused Activities 1. Alcohol Radio ads were run over December/January, reminding the community of the current law with regard to Blood Alcohol Content limits and asking that they plan ahead on how to get home, from events, work or sports if they are drinking alcohol. A Road Safety Corrections Day was held in Wanganui on Saturday 31 October Fifty recidivist drink drivers attended. Three short courses were run for Corrections during over one week. On average twelve people attended each course, these were run in conjunction with ACC as a pilot programme. Host Responsibility packs were sent out to one hundred and twenty of the larger employers in Wanganui in conjunction with Safer Whanganui and all their partners. 2. Distractions This is a new issue for Wanganui. Radio ads covering cell phone usage, noise and distractions from passengers, putting on makeup or shaving, and eating were run prior to and during Labour Weekend, as well as over the December/January holiday period. Two stops were held in conjunction with the Police with regard to cell phone usage whilst driving. 3. Intersections Four stops have been held in conjunction with the Police, to distribute current information on intersection use and the dangers caused particularly by inattention. Newspapers advertisements were also run in the local papers which included the current information on intersection rules, including the Give Way rule, how to indicate at roundabouts, controlled signals and lane sweeping. 4. Young Drivers SADD (Students Against Dangerous Driving) held a workshop in Wanganui and students from Wanganui Girls College and Wanganui Collegiate attended. A Corrections Road Safety Day was held in Wanganui on 31 October, This event was supported by the Police, Plunket, the Fire Service, St John, ACC and Cleveland Funeral Services. Corrections Road Safety Day, Mock Crash demonstration.

11 A Young Drivers forum was run in Marton, with the Ministry of Social Development, to gather information on how and why young people are struggling to obtain driver licences. The Safeteen advertisements were run for four consecutive weeks in the Wanganui Chronicle and the R U Over IT advertisement was run in The Zone (a news insert targeting under twenty year olds). 5. Fatigue A Fatigue Stop was held in Mangaweka on 23 October packs were handed out over a two hour period capturing families travelling over the Labour Weekend holiday period. On the Friday prior to Christmas Highway patrol held mini fatigue stops in Turakina, Bulls and Mangaweka. 6. Restraints: A Child Restraint Stop was held in Wanganui in August 2015 and 115 vehicles were stopped, with 167 seats checked. 108 of these were incorrectly installed, out of date or the wrong restraint for the child. Plunket held a short training session with the Traffic and Neighbourhood Policing Team in Wanganui. A Restraint Check Day was held at Okoia School in Wanganui with more to follow in 2016.

12 The Pep talk before the Checking Clinic starts. 9. External Programme Providers 9.1. YCY Young Cyclist of the Year was held in all districts of the Horizons Region apart from Taumarunui. This competition is the culmination of the years Road Safety Traffic Education by the Police School Community Officers within the Region. Around 1,500 sessions are delivered throughout the Region prior to the competition phase, the best girl and boy from each district then compete in the Regional competition, in Palmerston North (held on 26 November 2015) CKC REAP This financial year CKC REAP are concentrating on Learner Licence courses, to date they have run two courses each with eight students attending and all passing. This is an in-depth course run over twelve hours with many of this attending requiring extra help due to literacy or numeracy issues Whanganui Learning Centre Whanganui Learning Centre have been running their Learner Licence programme for some years and continue to exceed. This year so far they have had one hundred and fifty students with the majority passing or in the process of sitting their tests. The majority of these students have literacy and numeracy issues Te Ora Hou Te Ora Hou run their Drive Safe Drive Legal programme, and have had great success so far this financial year, with eleven passes for learner licence, nine passes for restricted licence and nine passes for full licence. They have had four fails so far, one of whom will resit. They are supported by volunteers from community groups, NGO s and the Police Age Concern Age Concern Wanganui have run two Keys to Safe Driving courses, one in Hunterville and the other in Wanganui, they have also run a Carfit programme in Wanganui. Due to changes in Health and Safety legislation, the Automobile Association ran an upskill day for the volunteers.