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.

Celebrating road safety around schools

Student road safety volunteers begin their march in the 2019 Schools' Orange Day parade.

Downtown Mount Maunganui will be awash with orange on Thursday, 24 November, as around 500 primary and intermediate school students march and wave banners in the annual Schools’ Orange Day parade.

The event is a joint initiative between Travel Safe (Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council) and New Zealand Police, with generous support from Road Safe Traffic Management, and will make its first appearance in Mount Maunganui after being held in the Tauranga city centre for 15 years.

Tauranga City Council Transport Network Safety & Sustainability Manager, Anna Somerville, says Orange Day is a chance to celebrate and reward the contribution of student volunteers for their important road safety work throughout the year.

“Orange Day is a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of our Travel Safe and Travel Smart students, road patrols, traffic wardens and bus monitors who work hard to ensure their peers can get to and from school safely. It gives students a voice and helps raise awareness of road safety and active travel around schools.”

Sergeant Mike Owen, from Western Bay of Plenty New Zealand Police, says a highlight of the day is the banner competition and judges will have a hard time on their hands if previous years’ entries are anything to go by.

“The effort and creativity that the students put into their banners is amazing. These kids have a real awareness of the roads around their schools, and the safety and active travel messages they are sharing are very relevant to them and their communities.”

The day begins at Coronation Park at 9:15am with speeches and the parade starts at 9:30am, following a route along Maunganui Road, around the roundabout at Pacific Avenue and back to the start. Temporary road closures will be in place.

Friends, family, locals, and visitors are encouraged to line the parade route, make some noise, and show their support for the students. After the parade the students will make their way to Baywave for a swim and a celebratory BBQ cooked by the police.

The following road closures will be in place to ensure a safe parade for all participants:

7:00am to 11:00am: Nikau Crescent between Rata Street and Maunganui Road - only open for School Bus parking and vehicles transporting children.
9:00am to 11:00am: Maunganui Road between Banks Avenue/Salisbury Avenue to Pacific Avenue.
9:00am to 11:00am: Prince Avenue between Victoria Street and Maunganui Road.
Additional temporary closure: Maunganui Road – Nikau Crescent to Banks Avenue/Salisbury Avenue under stop/go traffic control to allow for parade to exit and enter Coronation Park.