Let's be safe when we're out walking, riding, jogging or driving. Here are some tips to keep you and everyone else safe.
We encourage drivers to ask themselves “What are you missing?”. We want to increase awareness of other road users and highlight that we're all sharing the road - car drivers, cyclists, children walking, scooters and more.
Walkers, cyclists and joggers should also consider how they make sure they are visible to drivers. We all need to ensure children can be easily seen on the road whether they are riding, waiting for the school bus or crossing a pedestrian crossing.
Walking and riding is good for your health, it’s fun, saves you money and is great for the environment.
Bright and reflective items, including clothing, backpacks/covers, reflective wrist and ankle bands, bike reflectors and bike lights, help keep you safe by improving your visibility on roads and paths.
If you are a regular commuter by riding or walking - high visibility, reflective backpack bag covers are available to help you Be Seen at the NPDC Civic Centre (Liardet St), community libraries and at the Disability Information Centre.
For more information on requirements for bike lights and reflectors click here.
Be safe Be Seen – Tīaho Mai.
When you quickly scan the road, your brain only picks up what it is expecting to see, take a second look. Look and think ahead when driving, if you're about to come into sun strike, or a section of shading you may not see the child waiting to cross at the pedestrian crossing or the cyclist heading up the hill into the light.
Be comfortable in bright clothing, backpacks/covers, reflective wrist bands, and bike lights when out walking and riding. It could be the difference between being seen or not. Lights and reflective clothing can be purchased from a number of Taranaki retailers. If you are a regular commuter by bike, we have high visibility bag covers available at the NPDC Civic Centre on request.
Show courtesy and respect to all road users.
Even the smallest of mistakes on the road can cost us our life, or someone else's.
People, especially children, can be unpredictable.
Never assume you have been seen. Make good decisions when crossing the road.
Let’s Go work directly with primary schools, intermediate schools and kura in our district to promote road safety messages.
The Be Seen/Tīaho Mai school campaign was first run in 2018, and is aimed at students, their school and whānau.
The key message for students is to make sure to be seen or tīaho mai (which translates to ‘shine forth’) on our roads, when out walking, riding, skating, scootering to school or other activities, crossing roads, or waiting for the bus. It involves a range of fun activities and resources for use in the classroom, take-home activities, and giveaways which promote the key messages.
Let’s Go have high visibility backpack covers available year round at the Civic Centre and other locations around the district. Get in touch with Let’s Go on letsgo@npdc.govt to find out how to get one.
Templates are available in Te Reo Māori and English, to be printed size A4.
Templates are available for fun and short activities to do in the classroom.
Schools or kura pick a date to hold their ‘Day’ where students dress up in bright clothing and accessories, to promote the Be Seen, Tīaho Mai message in a fun and creative way.
Photos and video are captured of the ‘days’ to be shared on NPDC social media platforms, by using the hashtag #tiahomai! go in the draw to win prizes for their school community.
An electronic flyer will be supplied to the school to be distributed to the wider school community, parents and whānau. We encourage schools to share this widely, by sharing on apps, websites and social media pages, so parents and caregivers are also given key messages from the campaign.
Road safety is everyone's business - because we are all road users, whether as passengers in cars, drivers, cyclists, or whanau of children who walk to school and cross the road. Start up a conversation with friends and family around the importance of these messages.
For any further information on the campaign, please email the Let's Go team or call us on 06 759 6060.
Around the busy Christmas/summer period people are often doing more travel, navigating busier streets, and sharing the road with often stressed and distracted users. It's a particularly important time to pay extra attention on the roads, and not let our busy lives distract us from getting home safely.
