SASTA NEWSLETTER - APRIL, 2012.

Chair’s ReporT

I can appreciate that February and March have been very busy times of the year with all the events that regularly occur at this time and with the added challenge of the change to the Give way rules in late March keeping most of us very busy.

The executive held its first meeting of the calendar year in February – a very productive meeting with the development of our business plan which looks forward to the next three years. The executive is working hard on providing quality professional development opportunities for all its members as well as maintaining a high level of communication between central government and our members. I’d like to thank the entire executive in advance for the hard work they have volunteered for over the next year. A special thanks to Marion Webby who has also taken on the role of SASTA representative for the Manawatu/Whanganui as well as Taranaki, which leaves nearly all of New Zealand with representation.

SASTA members are also representing our interests on working groups for SafeKids and their national cycling project. A big thank you to Emma Hope and Debbie Lang for your work on our behalf. NZTA has also approached SASTA to have representatives on their working group on Substance Impaired Driving. I am aware that some of you have been in contact with Anne Downden or Margaret Stevenson-Wright on this topic and your assistance is very much appreciated.

In my role as Chair and conveniently placed in Wellington I have been seconded onto the TRAFINZ executive as the SASTA representative. The TRAFINZ executive is looking at ways to best leverage off the Australians Road Safety Research, Policing, and Education workshop which will be held in October this year. It is likely that regional workshops will be held in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch so hopefully you will have an opportunity to attend one of these. However with no national TRAFINZ conference this year we will need to re-think how and where we conduct the AGM this year.

I encourage you all to regularly log on to our website – it is still in the development stage but the news page is updated on a weekly basis – we hope to reduce the amount of emails you receive by putting all the information on the web first. We have developed new library pages which hold resources and journal articles that might be of interest and in the news page you can go to SASTA in the news which has media articles showing the work that our members are doing. If you have anything to contribute to either of these pages please forward them to your local representative. The professional development page continues to be updated with any training opportunities that we become aware of. If you have any suggestion about what might be needed or what is missing from the site let your regional representative know.

Coming up:

• Your invoices for the next year of membership will be sent to you next month. We really appreciate your continuing support.
• Kevin Hogg the regional representative will be looking for applications for the Cedric Rogers leadership award, so please give some thought to any potential nominees you may know of.

Finally, I’d like to thank you for the amazing work that you all do in your communities.

Regards,

Anna Blomquist, SASTA Chair

Cycling’s the Go

A wide range of wheeled activities, provided by Auckland Transport, has ensured Cycling’s the Go in Auckland. As more and more Aucklanders get on bikes (for the first time or return to them after a long absence) Auckland Transport’s Community Transport team put together a series of workshops, guides and rides to provide the necessary support and promotion of cycling across the Super City.

Beginner Bike courses and Cycle Safety workshops enabled riders to be confident in basic handling skills and ensured their bikes were safe and well maintained. Those with more experience were able to join On-Road training sessions and took advantage of a range of events including Go by Bike Breakfasts. All event details were promoted in a very popular free guidebook.

By providing a variety of events across the Super City Auckland Transport was able to promote safe and sustainable transport to a diverse audience and feedback has shown how positively residents have received the opportunity to get on their bikes.

“Thank you for the wonderful cycle training session, which was the most fun activity that I had done in a long time”.

“Although I ride occasionally, the session on maintenance and safe riding taught me new things, and has made me more confident in my riding”.

“I must be doing something right because I can’t stop grinning”.

Simon Vincent | Walking and Cycling Coordinator West, Auckland Transport simon.vincent@aucklandtransport.govt.nz

Go By Bike Day breakfast at the new Lincoln Event Centre.

70 people attended, enjoyed breakfast and spot prizes.

Ngaire Tinning, Selwyn District Council,Phone: (03) 347-2800

2012 Safekids ‘Child Cycling & Safety Out and About’ Workshops - Book your seat now!

Safekids has confirmed the following venues for for the 2012 Safekids Campaign

Information & Planning Workshop Series focusing on Child Cycling and Safety Out & About for the months of April to June.

Workshops will be held at:

• Auckland
• Blenheim
• Christchurch
• Dunedin
• Gisborne
• Hamilton
• Hastings
• Invercargill
• Nelson
• New Plymouth
• Palmerston North
• Porirua
• Rotorua
• Taupo
• Tauranga
• Wairoa
• Whakatane
• Whanganui
• Whangarei

A Maori and a Pacific Peoples focused workshop will also be held.

Organised in preparation for the launch of the Safekids Campaign in July 1, the workshops are an opportunity for injury prevention practitioners, agencies, community groups, volunteer services, private organisations and anyone interested in child safety, to receive up-to-date information, data and new resources on the campaign themes.

Attendees also network across sectors, listen to local experts, engage in planning activities, and develop joint strategies for action in their community.

Who should attend the workshops:

• NZTA cycle skills trainers
• NZ Police, including Police Education Officers, Road Policing and community safety teams
• Territorial Authorities, Road Safety Coordinators
• Key community stakeholders, such as Healthcare practitioners (GPs, nurses, paediatricians, EC clinicians)
• Educators (principals, teachers, home based educators)
• Government agencies and decision makers
• ACC Inury Prevention Consultants
• AA
• Maori, Pacific and Migrant injury prevention coalitions
• School, After school & holiday programmes
• Retailers
• The media
• And anyone with an interest in child safety.

More venues/ dates will be announced. For more information, visit or email: www.safekids.org.nz/index.php/page/Workshops E-mail: victoriaj@adhb.govt.nz

DRIVEWAY RUN OVER VIDEOS HIGHLIGHT RISKS, SAFETY MESSAGES

Thanks to funding from our major sponsor, Starship Foundation, Safekids produced a series of videos that highlighted the importance of driveway run over injury prevention awareness.

The videos can be found on our new website, www.mysafekids.org.nz and features expert advice from Safekids Director Ann Weaver, Starship Emergency Department Clinical Director Dr. Mike Shepherd, and Consumer New Zealand Research and Testing Manager Hamish Wilson.

There are also driveway run over awareness radio ads featuring Sione’s Wedding stars Robbie Magasiva and Teuila Blakely, and news presenter Scotty Morrison. The radio ads were produced by BCG2 and Mediacom and are currently running on stations Solid Gold FM, Radio Live, More FM, The Breeeze and Flava.

Targeting parents, caregivers and drivers, topics include driveway injury information, signs of a risky driveway, reversing cameras, the new Safekids driveway run over interactive kit, and Safekids’ main driveway messages CHECK, SUPERVISE and SEPARATE.

Visit the website: www.mysafekids.org.nz/drivewayrunover

Kids That Click! car seat safety messages

Thanks to funding from the Road Safety Trust, Safekids ran a radio campaign featuring short and catchy car passenger safety tips for families travelling with kids during the season.

The radio ads are pocket versions of the Safekids Kids That Click! videos launched in December, in partnership with the Ministry of Transport. The videos features child passenger safety messages for babies, toddlers, young and older children.

The radio ads are currently running in Radio Network stations ZM and Flava. To watch the Kids That Click! videos, visit:

www.mysafekids.org.nz/passengersafety

Latest Safekids News Out Now

Safekids News is the quarterly newsletter of Safekids New Zealand, focusing on issues and events on unintentional child injury prevention in New Zealand. In the latest edition of Safekids News:

In the latest edition of Safekids News (March 2012):

- Safekids NZ 'Green Paper for Vulnerable Children' Submission

- 2012 'Child Cycling, Safety Out & About' Workshops: Book a seat now!

- Kitchen Fire Alert: Kitchen Appliance Garage

- Competency Based Certification of Child Restraint Technicians

- Starship Trauma Update: Dog Bite Injuries, 2009 to 2011

- MySafekids: Driveway Run Over Awareness Videos and Ads

- Driveway Run Over Interactive Kits: Locations & Contact Info

- Coalition Events

Safekids News is read by Community leaders and decision makers, those working in injury prevention, health promotion and/or involved in child health, the Local Government, Educators and child care services, Well Child Providers, and anyone with an interest in keeping kids safe

To download the latest edition of Safekids News, visit:

http://www.safekids.org.nz/index.php/page/SafekidsNews

Inaugural AMHC Symposium A Great Success

The AMHC held its Inaugural Symposium in Dunedin, New Zealand last month, and the international multidisciplinary event was a great success. The event was held in front of a live studio audience and streamed to the Web to viewers all around the world.

The title of the Symposium was “The Road Not Taken – Mobility Health: New Directions in Teen Mobility Management”.In addition to our exceptional international speakers, (see video archives for all presentations), a highlight of the symposium was our final group of speakers – the Teen Panel, facilitated by Arthur Orsini of Urbanthinkers.

All the participants on the panel were non-drivers, aged 17-18, from two schools in Otago (one rural, one urban). They wowed the audience of academics, city council staff, and students with the eloquence with which they discussed their transport experiences and concerns as non-drivers getting around Dunedin. The AMHC will continue to work with this group of students throughout 2012, with the hopes that the students themselves will not only facilitate the Teen Panel for our AMHC 2013 Symposium, but play a large role in the planning of the entire event.

Working directly with teen non-drivers is an untapped resource, as they are extremely capable actors in their community. As one student stated after the Symposium (and others agreed): “It was good to see that people were listening to our discussion … that doesn’t happen very often

.”

Aimée L. Ward, MPH, Assistant Research Fellow Coordinator, Adolescent Mobility Health Consortium (AMHC) Injury Prevention Research Unit (IPRU)Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, School of Medicine - aimee.ward@otago.ac.nz ∙ Virtual meeting room - https://connect.otago.ac.nz/amc/

Web - www.otago.ac.nz/amc ∙ Blog - http://blogs.otago.ac.nz/amhc

School Travel Plan - Koraunui School, Stokes Valley

During the implementation of the School Travel Plan at Koraunui we came up with an idea of Drop of Pou. We first had to decide where these Pou would work best, and then asked the homeowners if we could put them outside their properties on their front berm. We had no objections, so we provided the School with the Pou and they had the children decorate them. They are colourful, and have welcoming messages like Kiaora, and Talofa. Once this was complete we had the Pou concreted into the desired locations.

The pupils from Koraunui are encouraged to be dropped there in the mornings, and picked up from there in the afternoons. The Principal Barbara Hay has developed a reward system, where a senior student has a duty day at the Pou and gives tickets to the children who use them. Once the children complete a chart they get a small reward. This is working wonderfully, and the Principal commented to me that there were very few cars up the street as a result. She also said that it is great for health benefits, fresh air and the independence of the children and it has also stopped children from arriving at School late, as if they dont get to the Pou on time they dont get a ticket. Parents let go of the need to drop their child right at the entrance of the School, and Children get to walk with their friends part the way to School.

We are very pleased with the result of this project, and plan to set up more where it is suitable.

Sherie Wright, School Travel Planner, Hutt City Council  birds.nest@paradise.net.nz

Walk ‘n Wheel Stories – Queenstown Lakes District - 2012

For the second year running, Queenstown Lakes District Council in partnership with NZ Police, Racers Edge, Element and school communities in both Queenstown and Wanaka, organised the annual Walk n Wheels Week. This is part of a region-wide campaign led by Sport Otago, supported locally by Sport Central. This week long event puts the spotlight on safe journeys to school encouraging children to walk and wheel whenever and wherever they can – whether to the bus stop or the school, and to do so safely.

A total of seven schools officially took part, but a further two schools took on related activities during the week, making this campaign more comprehensive than ever. Here are some of the highlights of the week.

Arrowtown School

Arrowtown School wanted their senior students to be better equipped to ride to school independently. NZTA recommends that children under 11 yrs old should not ride unsupervised in traffic. So they wanted to see if their Year 7 and 8 students knew about the local hazards and basic road rules to keep them safe on the road.

Tim Young, the school’s Deputy Principal devised a town route which took in all the key intersections children would need to negotiate to make a safe journey to school. Use of “green spaces”, a list of hazards and a map were all supplied to the 15 or so parent volunteers who helped on the day. Constable Beth Fookes and Kirsty Barr (Queenstown Lakes District Council) rode with small groups stopping at each ‘hazard station’ to talk about the challenges facing young cyclists and tips on what they can do to keep safe on the road. The ride was so successful, everyone decided they wanted to repeat it again in term 4 and make it available to even more students.

Remarkables Primary School

This year the focus was on safe walking and safe cycling. Years 1-3 students ventured out on guided safe-walking tours with Constables Beth Fookes and Garry Milford as well as QLDC’s school travel planner Kirsty Barr. Children learned how to use zebra crossings, as well as crossing points (islands with pedestrian refuges on the road), and how to use signalled crossings (the only ones in Queenstown Lakes!) across busy SH6 that runs through Frankton. The rain didn’t dampen enthusiasm though. Safety staff were able to demonstrate how wet roads affected safety for young pedestrians while the students saw the opportunity this gave them to use their favourite umbrellas!

Bike and helmet fitting with the help of Element and Avanti Plus was carried out with Year 4 and 7/8 students, as well as practical cycle skills and a guided cycle ride around the lakefront.

Year 7/8 teacher Brendon Martyn has been leading a programme over the whole of term 1 around safe riding. It covers health benefits, bike and helmet safety and safe routes (led by Kirsty Barr, QLDC School Travel Planner), road rules and hazards (led by Constable Beth Fookes) bike maintenance (led by Ryan Black at Element). “This is a great initiative and could be a model that is used in other schools,” says Council’s School Travel Plan Coordinator, Kirsty Barr. Brendon Martyn Remarkables Primary School’s Year 7/8 teacher says the programme gives students something to aim for, giving them essential guidelines on the basic skills and knowledge needed to bike safely while also encouraging students to choose biking wherever practical, as a great way to get to school.

St Joseph’s School and Glenorchy Schools held cycle safety programmes led by Constable Beth Fookes and Kirsty Barr (QLDC) and promoted riding to school during Walk n Wheels week. St Joseph’s School Yr 3-8 students practised a number of exercises, including the “slow race”, which showed how mastering control over anything on wheels slowly leads to safer riding overall. Beth also visited Queenstown Primary School to talk about safe cycling and helmets to a number of senior students.

In Wanaka, Hawea Flat School also encouraged walking and wheeling during the week. In addition to this, Mark and Jude Elliott led a triathlon programme for the whole school, ending in the triathalon day itself on Friday 2 March. The programme gives students a classic introduction into the world of triathlons and will no doubt plant the seed for many future triathletes!

Senior students at Wanaka Primary and Holy Family Schools joined forces to compete in the first ever Cycle Championship which assessed students on road safety awareness, bike and helmet safety and their practical skills. Racers Edge and large numbers of parent volunteers made the day possible and the students had a lot of fun. Over 180 year 5-8 students took part on the day, and a total of 10 students got top marks of 100%!

The Walk n Wheels week has been another success involving nearly 2000 students in the Wanaka and Queenstown area, with schools reporting full to over-flowing bike parks (despite adverse weather!).

Some schools saw big increases in the numbers of children walking and wheeling during the week, for example Wanaka Primary more than doubled their rate, Holy Family School nearly tripled theirs, Hawea Flat School got 3 and ½ times more students walking and wheeling and Remarkables Primary also saw a 32% increase in students walking and wheeling to school. The final results ended with a prize draw for 2 bikes won by Remarkables Primary (courtesy of Element and Avanti in Queenstown) and Wanaka Primary School (courtesy of Racers Edge and Trek in Wanaka).

Students had a fun week, making big improvements with their cycle safety skills and showing great commitment to active transport. Another big winner was the level of community involvement. Road safety agencies, local businesses, families, students and schools all came together to work on the common goal of increasing safe and healthy travel choices for our young people in the Queenstown Lakes district. So the benefits are not just for our students at the centre of this campaign, but for the whole community. A big thanks to everyone who made it another great success.

Kirsty Barr, School Travel Plan Coordinator for Queenstown Lakes District Council Ph: 03 443 8609 | Mob: 027 2005 111 | email: barrkerr@ts.co.nz PO Box 74, Albert Town, Otago 9344