Improving road safety
The Waikato region has a poor road safety record with one of the highest accident rates in the country, and the Regional Council is keen to collaborate with wider stakeholders to address the problem.
Waikato Regional Council’s Regional Transport Committee (RTC) took a leadership position in championing road safety across the region. It gave a mandate to the Regional Road Safety Forum convened by the Waikato Regional Council which includes a wide range of organisations with interests in road safety.
This forum has produced a new regional road safety strategy ‘Road to Zero for the Waikato’, endorsed by the Waikato RTC which also adopted its vision of accessible journeys free of deaths and serious injuries and a target to reduce deaths and serious injuries in the Waikato region by 40% by 2030. This target aimed to save 173 people from death or serious injury through safer roads, appropriate speed limits and safer drivers.
The region has also helped to make changes to how speed limits are set nationally to improve consistency across council boundaries and make sure that roads have speed limits that are safe and appropriate.
The RTC and the region’s coordinated efforts have helped to make road safety a priority for all Waikato transport users.
