Our theme for 2024: Road Safety Heroes
The theme of Road Safety Week 2024 (20-26 May) is Be a road safety hero, recognising everyone who helps to make our roads safer and support people after a crash, and explaining how we can all play a part in making journeys safer for everyone.
Everyone can be a Road Safety Hero. Road Safety Week 2024 recognises everyone who is working to make our roads safer and support people following crashes - from emergency services to health professionals, transport engineers to school crossing patrols, road workers to community campaigners. It also enables everyone who uses roads to understand how they can take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others.
During Road Safety Week you can:
- Celebrate the work of people who help to reduce casualties and care for people affected by crashes.
- Speak up for everyone's right to make safe and healthy journeys where they live.
- Join our community of road safety heroes.
Some ways you can get involved in Road Safety Week are:
- SCHOOLS - help children, young people and parents learn about road safety heroes and why road safety matters, and enable them to speak up for safe and healthy journeys. Celebrate your own heroes, such as your road patrol students or students who walk, cycle or use public transport to get to school.
- ORGANISATIONS - be a road safety hero by managing road risk and taking a safe system approach to policies, procedures and effective driver training and education. Recognise your internal road safety heroes, for example your health & safety staff or at-work drivers.
- EMERGENCY SERVICES AND ROAD SAFETY PROFESSIONALS - highlight the work you do as road safety heroes to reduce casualties and care for people affected by crashes.
- ROAD CRASH VICTIMS - share stories about how road safety heroes helped you after a crash.
- INDIVIDUALS - be a road safety hero by pledging to use roads safely and speaking up for safe and healthy journeys.
Speak up for safe and healthy journeys
Safe journeys happen when we design our road transport network so that human error doesn't result in death or serious injury. This approach of safety by design is known as the Safe System approach and the great news is that the solutions are known and available to us now! From safety technology in vehicles, to speed limits that reflect the safety of the roads, we can all learn about, shout about and celebrate these proven solutions.
Healthy journeys are important to help keep us healthy, fit and happy. We need to make sure that choosing to walk or cycle doesn't put us at increased risk and that the air we breathe on our journeys is clean. We know the solutions here too – we need to prioritise safe spaces for travel on foot and by bike and ensure that the vehicles that remain on our roads use ultra-low emission technology.
The theme of the UN Global Road Safety Week focuses on designing transport systems with people at the centre, and highlights how sustainable and active travel can help us to create greener, safer and more liveable communities. Some of our hero messages during Road Safety Week will focus on these issues, to tie in with the Global Week too.
Shout out for road safety heroes
Celebrate the people who really make a difference to YOU. The school crossing patrol that helps your children travel to school safely. Someone who campaigned for a safe cycle path where you live. Or someone who helped you after a crash. This is a great opportunity to tell someone how grateful you are.
Road to Zero
Road Safety Week, and the hero theme, also supports New Zealand's current road safety strategy, Road to Zero, the vision of zero deaths on Aotearoa's roads, and the message that it takes everyone to get to no one. Find out more about Road to Zero.
