February focuses on keeping everyone safe on the roads! We'll discuss Back to School road safety, introduce Waimakariri District Council's Road Safety Coordinator, dive into the Cycle Sense program in schools, and highlight the Aotearoa Bike Challenge 2024.
Motorists urged to be mindful for the whole school year
The official 2024 School year is now well underway in our District and as many will have noticed this means greater volumes of traffic on our roads around school drop off and pick up times.
This is not only an increase in motor vehicle traffic, but cyclists, pedestrians and kids getting on and off school buses.
Police are reminding parents of the risks around schools when driving, urging them to be attentive, as children can often be unpredictable and appear out of nowhere.
Waimakariri District Council Road Safety Coordinator Peter Daly says it’s always a great idea for parents to have conversations with their kids about traffic.
“It’s reminding kids to check for vehicles by listening and looking left and right and encouraging them to use the marked school crossings. These are important ways of keeping our tamariki safe.
“The last thing we ever want is for any of the young people in our district to be hit by a vehicle. This is one place in which they should feel safe.”
As well as reminding parents to pass on this critical advice to their kids. Peter Daly says motorists also have an obligation to be extra vigilant around school zones.
“The speed limit is 20km/h when passing a stationary school bus, regardless of which side of the road the bus is stopped. Many schools have reduced school speed zones too, because at slower speeds, if kids do unpredictable things, it’s less likely it’ll lead to them being hurt.”
Peter says motorists need to be prepared for the unexpected.
“The kids are excited to see their friends at the beginning of the day and their parents at the end of the day, they can dart straight out into traffic without thinking.
“That’s why slowing right down and having the time to react in a situation like that could save someone’s life.”
Peter Daly says there is always a big push at the beginning of the year to remind motorists of kids going back to school, but he says it’s also important to be mindful of them throughout the year.
“We don’t want people to get complacent about this. It’s so important to keep that awareness up the whole year round.”
Meet our Staff
Peter - Road Safety Coordinator
Tell us a bit about what you do?
The role of a Road Safety Coordinator varies across NZ districts. Here at Waimakariri District Council, I’m responsible for arranging road safety programmes for various community e.g. young drivers, older drivers, motorcyclists, etc. When residents raise specific problems, I become a problem solver, partnering with our Roading team to implement improvements for everyone on the road.
How long have you worked at Waimakariri District Council?
18 months so far.
How did you get into your job?
Every role, from Police officer to motorcycle instructor, has contributed to my journey as a road safety advocate. Now at Waimakariri District Council, following experiences with ACC and Selwyn District Council, I continue to implement safety solutions across diverse communities. Motorcycle safety is a particular interest of mine, shaped by my instructional years.
What things do you like the most about your job?
I'm driven by the positive impact I can make on road safety. Knowing my work helps people get home safely keeps me coming to work.
Do you have a cool story you want to share?
The greatest satisfaction comes from knowing my work directly helps someone. I spent years training motorcyclists in crucial skills like emergency braking and hazard awareness. And in 2022, I received an email from a past student who attributed his survival to me. He recounted using those skills to avoid a crash on Dyers Pass Road when another driver failed to give way. While it's often hard to quantify prevention, that email brought home to me that my job is to help people stay safe and avoid becoming victims of preventable road accidents. It was super rewarding.
Motorcycle Safety Night with Dave Moss
Waimakariri District motorcyclists got a valuable boost on Waitangi Day thanks to a session led by international expert Dave Moss. Held at the Pegasus Community Centre, the Kickstart Waimakariri 2024 Motorcycle Setup event focused on getting the most out of your motorcycle through proper setup.
Dave Moss covered key areas like ergonomics, suspension, tires, and general knowledge to optimise bike fit and feel for each rider. This aligns with the ongoing effort to enhance motorcycle safety in the region.
The evening also fostered a sense of community as attendees shared their experiences. This gathering came at a perfect time, coinciding with the increased presence of motorcyclists making their annual pilgrimage to the iconic Burt Munro event in Invercargill.
'Cycle Sense' a Smart Choice for Cyclists
Having capable, confident and courteous road users is important to ensure commuting through the Waimakariri District is pleasant experience for everyone. It’s also a top priority for Waimakariri District Council that everyone is safe on our roads. One of the best ways to get around the District is by cycling and it’s also a great opportunity for our young people to explore the area they live in, so when the opportunity arose for Council to start a cycling programme in schools, it seemed an easy choice to make.
There is a nationwide cycling programme for schools called Bike Ready. It’s an NZTA programme, able to be delivered locally by local instructors.
In 2019 Council reached out to the North Canterbury Sports and Recreation Trust to deliver classroom theory sessions on safe road cycling practices, followed by on-road instruction involving riding on local roads and learning about how to interact with other traffic.
The programme delivered in Waimakariri is called Cycle Sense and is delivered throughout the year to most schools in the District. Drivers may have seen these small groups of students cycling around their school under the supervision of a qualified cycling instructor.
Road Safety Coordinator Peter Daly attended a road-going session on a course and was impressed with the skills covered. “It goes beyond kids learning how to ride a bike. The students were shown what a give way is, what a stop sign means, and the safest way to ride on a road dealing with parked cars and intersections. Basically, this was the first introduction for most kids on how to interact with other road users”.
This knowledge leads to growing the confidence it takes to venture out onto the road. Cycling can be challenging in urban areas, but there are ways to ride bikes that are safer, and which make cycling a great choice for our next generation of road users. Parents who encourage their children to cycle are allowing those children to learn skills like gap selection and pace judgement, skills so necessary in later life. These skills are often not learned by children who spend their childhood years in the seat of a car.
Council funds the programme using part funding from NZTA, and will continue to work on the positive start the Cycle Sense programme has had in Waimakariri.
Ride and Shine! It’s time for the Aotearoa Bike Challenge
It’s time to take to the streets Waimakariri and get on board the Aotearoa Bike Challenge in February.
You can ride as an individual, as part of your workplace or with a club or group. Just taking part gets you in the draw to win some awesome prizes.
Ride anywhere at any time during the month and log your ride via the Aotearoa Bike Challenge website. Your bike rides earn points and the more points you have the higher your chances of winning prizes!
But it’s not just about the prizes, every ride logged contributes to anonymised bike data that town planners can use to make our area better for bikes.
Already, more than 15,000 riders have logged over 870,000 kilometres! That’s a massive 35,500 kilograms of CO2 emissions saved from our atmosphere.
The Challenge is administered by global organisation Love to Ride who are on a mission to “get more people riding bikes” and create a long-lasting love of cycling. They currently work with 29,503 companies in 12 countries to get more people riding bikes.
In fact, 40% of people who considered themselves non-cyclists now ride at least once a week after taking part in a Love to Ride programme.
Not sure where to ride? Check out Visit Waimakariri for inspiration and to download the Waimakariri Cycle Trails guide.
The Aotearoa Bike Challenge finishes on February 29. After that you have 72 hours to log your remaining February rides. This is a final opportunity to check your profile and make sure everything looks good before results are finalised! Make sure it's all logged before 11:59pm on 3 March.
Find out more or join the Challenge here
Stay Informed
Visit the Public Notices section of our website for the latest road closures, roadworks, updates, and more.