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.

Opening eyes to blind zones

Awareness, positioning, control and good decision making were the main takeaways for attendees after the Blindzone demonstrations this morning at Tauranga Marina Bridge carpark.

The free event by Share the Road and Travel Safe are part of an ongoing education initiative for Tauranga road users.

Trucks have several blind spots (also known as blind zones) that prevent a driver’s view of cyclists, motorcycles, cars and even larger vehicles. The demonstrations allowed anyone an opportunity to sit in the driver's seat of a big truck to learn just where you can and can't be seen. In previous demonstrations the local fire brigade showed up and attendees were shocked to find that not just a bike, but an entire fire engine could hide in a truck’s blind zone!

A steady stream of about 80 participants filtered through over the course of the morning demonstrations, all patiently awaiting their turn to see the road from a truck’s eye view. Afternoon sessions will be available today between 4pm - 6pm.

Russell Troup, Acting Director of Transport, Tauranga City Council, acknowledged the importance of ongoing education for all road users and was encouraged to see such a large turnout.

“It’s great to see so many Tauranga road users of all ages show up today to learn more about safely sharing the road. Initiatives like this are a fantastic way to better understand each other’s experiences,” said Mr Troup.

This sentiment was echoed by Richard Barter, Campaign Manager, Share the Road, who hopes that the knowledge gained can be practically applied in the future.

“We really hope this experience has improved people’s understanding of blind zones and given them some ideas about how to change their behaviour when riding a bike or driving near heavy vehicles,” said Mr Barter.

In addition to the Blindzone demonstrations the Share the Road team will be holding six Share the Road Toolbox workshops with local truck companies and bus operators in late May and early June. Using a simulated full-size road environment, drivers learn what safe passing and following feels like from a cyclist’s perspective.

Welcome Bay Wheelers cycle group who attended the Blindzone demonstration today.