Roads and Roadsides
About This Project
Roads and Roadsides looks at infrastructure and how those working in the road safety field can reduce the likelihood of serious injury or death if a driver makes a mistake on the roading network. For further information on how the NZ Transport Agency and road controlling authorities are planning to improve the road network check out the Safe Roads website: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/safety/our-vision-vision-of-a-safe-road-system/safe-roads/
Roads & Roadsides Projects
Intersections
In 2008 the then LTSA launched an intersection campaign using the Wheel of Risk which had a bearded man sitting beside a Wheel of Risk as people waited to enter an intersection. Roadsafe Taranaki has employed similar tactics at high crash or busy urban intersections around Taranaki over the last couple of years and will continue to find innovative ideas to educate drivers after the dangers of intersections.
Collaborating with NZ Police and volunteer groups to identify problem intersections and target red light runners and those failing to give way or stop has seen driver behaviour slowly improve. These campaigns will continue while Taranaki still ranks as one of the highest regions in New Zealand for intersection crashes.
For more information on intersection road rules in New Zealand, take a look at the give way rule online https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/roadcode/about-driving/the-give-way-rules/
Loss of Control
Roadsafe Taranaki utilises community events, school presentations and the media to highlight safer driving practices which includes driving to the conditions. Taranaki is a region where you can go from mountain to sea in less than one hour. This means road conditions can vary significantly within a very short space of time including ice, snow, sun strike, stock movements, cycling events and even agricultural contracting vehicles that travel slow and use up a significant portion of the road.
Roundabouts
Collaborating with NZ Police and volunteer groups to identify those failing to give way is a key strategy to reduce the number of intersection/roundabout crashes in Taranaki. These campaigns will continue while Taranaki still ranks as one of the highest regions in New Zealand for intersection crashes.