Haumarutanga rori - pakeke

Road safety - adults

The Travel Safe team work in the community to reduce accidents and improve road safety.

Young Driver Workshop

Free young driver workshops are aimed at road users aged between 16 and 24, who hold a current learner or restricted driver licence. Participants will leave with improved knowledge, confidence, and skills.

Each workshop includes:

A 60-minute one-on-one driving lesson with a certified instructor
Waka Kotahi NZTA roadworthy vehicle check (what to check to ensure your vehicle is safe and roadworthy)
Driver behaviour awareness (speed, impairment, restraints, distraction, and fatigue
Awareness session on sharing the road with heavy vehicles

Parents/caregivers are strongly encouraged to attend but it’s not compulsory. The four-hour workshops are held during school term holidays, usually between 9am and 1pm.

Drive has everything you need to prepare for your learner, restricted and full licence tests.

Visit the Drive website

Young driver workshop

Car Restraints

Looking for support around car seat restraints? Contact one of our local car seat technicians at travelsafeschools@tauranga.govt.nz. We offer free car seat installations, checks, and will help answer any questions or concerns regarding your car restraint.

Carseat installation

Parking behaviour

Drop off and pick up are busy times that pose a safety risk at the school gate. Travel Safe help schools to communicate things like parking time limits, drop off and pick up zones, parking over the kerb and other safety risks at the school gate. We deliver an in-school parking and safety programme named Peaceful Parker, and partner with council parking officers to do school visits when requested by schools or the community.

Blindzone Workshops

Blindzone workshops allow people to see the world from a truck driver’s point of view. Through a series of practical scenarios, participants will learn where to place themselves so they are visible to truck drivers and will leave with more awareness and confidence on the road.

For more on Blindzone and cycling around heavy vehicles visit Share the Road.

Blindzone workshop

Be Bright, Be Safe, Be Seen

This winter visibility programme reminds cyclists, walkers, runners, and scooter riders to have lights, bright clothing, and reflective gear if they are out and about during early mornings, evenings, and at other times of low light and poor visibility.

Whether commuting to work or school, being active for fun or fitness, or popping down to the local shops, people should take extra care and keep safe by being fully visible on roads and paths.

All cyclists are encouraged to wear high-visibility clothing and ensure their front light, rear light and rear red reflector are all working correctly and are clean.

View the official New Zealand code for cycling for more information.

Cameron Road changes to remain at Seventh and Twelfth Avenues

Roading improvements at Seventh Avenue and Twelfth Avenue made as part of the 2021-2024 upgrade of Cameron Road will remain in place it was decided yesterday.

Tauranga City Council’s City Delivery Committee was presented with options for the future of the two city centre intersections following concerns raised by local businesses about the improvements limiting their customers’ ability to reach them. For Seventh Avenue, there was also concern that reduced access was affecting leasing opportunities.

Councillors acknowledged that the feedback received from the community did not give this outcome unanimous support but they were making decisions for the future. They recognised that businesses had already suffered from long delays on Cameron Road Stage 1, and they felt that the roading improvements already made were the best option.

A vote was carried to maintain the status quo of the Seventh Avenue cul de sac because reopening the intersection with Cameron Road would result in a loss of parking on Cameron Road which a recent survey identified was of high value to local businesses and had implications for the future form and function of Cameron Road.

Parking concerns raised by both residents and businesses as part of the survey also identified the need to provide more parking in the area, so a vote was also carried to add additional on-street parking on Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

While there was real concern expressed for the challenges experienced by the businesses on Twelfth Avenue, a decision was made to keep the ‘no right turn’ from Cameron Road into Twelfth Avenue in place due to safety concerns with traffic having to cross two traffic lanes, a bus lane and a cycleway if it was turning right into Twelve Avenue.

Head of Transport Mike Seabourne told the committee that because the Cameron Road improvements had been designed to accommodate future growth in the city, particularly in Te Papa and Tauriko West, it was a very “future-like” design which he acknowledged was “awkward” for the community to understand and get behind.

Councillor Kevin Schuler said it was important to address the parking issues identified in the Seventh Avenue area so he believed that should be done now and if there was still ongoing disquiet about the cul de sac that a decision about reopening it could be revisited later.

Councillor Marten Rozeboom said reinstating a right turn into Twelfth Avenue from Cameron Road would affect the flow of traffic between Fifteenth Avenue and Elizabeth Street, and while some people were always disaffected or disadvantaged by change, it was working well for most of Tauranga.

Councillor Rod Taylor said while the rush of the Cameron Road project and the impact of COVID-19 meant that consultation at the time “wasn’t 100%” there has now been an opportunity for the community to be heard. “The result isn’t going to be what everyone is wanting but the fact we’ve looked at it again is good for the community and a lot of people now understand the design of the road and long-term intention.”

Image caption

The Seventh Avenue west intersection with Cameron Road.

Posted: Jun 5, 2025,