A near miss between a Fonterra tanker and a Ōhaupō Primary school cyclist last year has had a positive outcome.
The dairy company and the school asked Waipā council’s Road Safety team for help.
Thirty-one students from the school attended a cycle truck awareness workshop which focused on blind spots that certain trucks have.
Students learned where the safest place was to ride on the road and placement around trucks.
Don’t catch a ride
Each student sat in the truck cab so they could see blind spots for themselves.
Bryan Hudson
In other road safety news in his report to the Service Delivery committee this week, Transportation manager Bryan Hudson said 30 billboards were refreshed before Christmas last year with the message ‘Slow down mate Make it home’.
“The use of Te Reo on previous billboards was deemed successful. However, timeframes and translation issues didn’t allow it for this placement,” he said.
It was difficult having both Te Reo and English on a sign due to a seven-word limit recommended by New Zealand Transport Agency.
Meanwhile another campaign urging people not to get a ride home with police, St John or a funeral director was well received, said Hudson.
The team’s job is to provide ongoing liaison with road safety organisations, police, NZTA, the community and council staff to establish and foster a safety culture.
Other activities in the three months since November 1 have been cycle skills training, Students Against Drunk Drivers planning for a regional workshop, shared programmes with Hamilton City Council and scooter safety programmes.
