This week we are taking part in Road Safety Week, which is organised by Brake, the road safety charity.

Dear parent or carer,

To find out more about Road Safety Week, go to www.roadsafetyweek.org.nz.

Road Safety Week is a great opportunity for us to talk about road safety and raise funds to help Brake campaign for safer roads and support families affected by road crashes. 

The theme of Road Safety Week is Road Safety Heroes, celebrating the heroic work of everyone helping to improve road safety. 

We have been talking to the children about different Road Safety Heroes who help people make safe and healthy journeys and support people after a road crash. We have also talked about how everyone can be a Road Safety Hero by using roads safely, to protect themselves and other people. 

Children of all ages are at risk of being hurt or killed when walking near roads. On average, 17 children aged 14 and under are killed or injured on New Zealand roads every week. 

We are doing our bit to try and make sure this never happens in our community. Please help us by supervising your child closely on roads and continuing to teach road safety as you do. We are also encouraging children to shout out for road safety by asking their adults to help keep them safe near roads. For children to walk safely in their communities, they need their journeys to be safe. They need footpaths, cycle paths, safe places to cross, slow traffic and clean traffic.

Your child has written you a postcard asking you to help keep them safe when crossing roads. They are asking you to:

• Always hold their hand when you walk near roads and cross roads at safe places
• Help them ride their bike on safe paths away from traffic
• Make sure they always sit in their special car seat when you travel by car
• Drive at safe speeds and never using a phone while driving.

Please talk to your child about the messages on their postcard, and display their artwork proudly to show them you understand the importance of keeping them safe near roads.

Thank you for your support.

No one should be hurt on roads and all children should be able to walk and cycle safely in their community. Hopefully you have safe pavements, crossing places and speed limits in your area. If not, you can find out more about campaigning for safety improvements on our website. Go to www.brake.org.nz/families for more advice about safe and healthy journeys for your family.