Safety Man comes to city
Following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Kaikoura in November 2016, part of the SH1 route from Kaikoura to Picton closed due to extreme landslides and road damage.
The inland, alternative state highway became the main route for all road users travelling between Picton and Christchurch. Communities, transport operators, car users, camper vans, motorbikes and bicycles all needed to share this road safely to avoid crashes and fatalities.
Unfortunately this route was not designed to accommodate such large traffic volumes and it saw an increase in truck-related crashes and rollovers.
North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR), along with industry associations and agencies, got together to action a rollover prevention plan for the alternate SH1 route. As part of this plan, NZ Trucking Association was contracted to develop the Safety Man Road Safety Truck to combat truck related crashes.
For the first six months this mobile classroom targeted all road users of the alternative SH1 route to deliver the Healthy Truck Driver and Share the Road with Big Trucks programmes. The NZ Trucking Association visited communities, transport companies, schools and events. Demand for Safety Man visits was and continues to be endless. The Safety Man raises important awareness about improving truck driver health and wellbeing and educates other road users about how to share the road safely with heavy vehicles.
The programmes have been extremely successful in achieving this goal. The website www.roadsafetytruck.co.nz will take you through the journey of the Safety Man and show you how the Road Safety Truck was born and continues to be a life saving road safety initiative in NZ.
■ The Safety Man will be at VINZ new testing centre at 37 Armstrong St, Roslyn, in Palmerston North on November 1 and at Ashhurst at the end of October.
There will be a public event at VINZ on the afternoon of Thursday, November 1, to check out the Safety Man, enjoy a barbecue and have a look at VINZ’s new facility and win some giveaways.