This document outlines Waitakere City Council's: -Commitment to community safety -Contribution to community safety -Safety monitoring processes

A summary of data around fatal injuries in Waitakere City 1993-1999.

A factsheet showing injury hospitalisation trends in Waitakere City 1993-2001. Also see rec # 7197.

It is hoped this plan will: - be a communication tool, fostering greater co-ordination and information sharing - be used to make recommendations and provide ideas for joint action - identify safety activity areas in a wide number of sectors - identify any major gaps in service given the injury and crime data - foster advocacy for any major gap areas identified.

Factsheet gives an overview of the evaluation of the Waitakere Project (WCIPP), a description of the Project and strategies involved. The evaluation demonstrated an increase in awareness of injury prevention and significant changes in behaviour.

"As the sport of Waka Ama expands, there is a need for appropriate safety systems and procedures to be developed and nurtured, by coaches, clubs and experienced paddlers. All new paddlers entering the sport must be made aware of the risks and be provided with the skills needed to avoid unnecessary risk situations or, in the event of an incident occurring, have the knowledge to deal with it appropriately. In short, it is essential that the risks to both paddlers and other water users are minimised though the adoption of a code of safe practice for Waka Ama." "It is important to stress from the outset that these are 'Safety Guidelines' and not an actual 'Safe Operating Plan'. It is envisaged that each club will develop its own personalised safety plans based on the 'Safety Guidelines', in accordance with the local conditions within which they operate."

"The focus of this document is to support Kaupapa Waka by identifying the various aspects of safety practices amongst Waka operators and raising awareness of these safety processes in relation to Waka Taua." These 'guidelines' (see rec # 5245) are not, in themselves, a safety plan for operating Waka Taua. Rather, they are designed to be used by individual Iwi/Waka operators to develop detailed safety operation plans.

Waka Wero (vehicle challenge) is an initiative delivered by health provider, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, and a handful of marae volunteers in the Hawke's Bay. It involves 10 marae putting forward one Waka Watch representative whose job it is to: oversee road safety issues, ensure members of the marae support each other to deal with those issues, educate using road safety resources and act as a contact for road safety campaigns run by different organisations. At the beginning of the initiative, marae nominated their Waka Watch representative and completed three Waka Wero projects. They underwent a road safety audit to identify issues, created a road safety theme waiata or haka and came up with a road safety catch phrase. This article explains this initiative in more detail.

Walk a child to school day (WCSD) ... a promotional event aimed at primary schools in Christchurch

These posters are part of new series from the Education Portal of the New Zealand Transport Agency. These printable PDFs of posters focus on child pedestrian safety: 'Walk and be safe. Cross the road safely. Walk with a parent, caregiver or friends. Be seen by traffic. Look and listen for traffic using driveways.' [Image of women and children.] 'Walk and be safe ' [image of man and child with the same messages.] 'Kia haumaru ano te hikoi haere.' [Image of women and children and safety messages in Maori. For the PDFs see: Walk and be safe [Poster, image of women and children.]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/3991/Feet-First-Poster-1--Road-Safety--English.pdf Walk and be safe [Poster, image of man and child]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/6228/A4-Safe.pdf Kia haumaru ano te hikoi haere. [Walk and be safe, poster, in Maori, includes an image of a women and children.]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/4015/Feet-First-Poster-1--Road-Safety--Mori.pdf and see also: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/resources/school-ethos-and-organisation/resources

These posters are part of new series from the Education Portal of the New Zealand Transport Agency. These printable PDFs of posters focus on child pedestrian safety: "Walk and have fun, Walk and be creative, Think, walk and talk, Be inspired by what you see." Includes an image of a child on a 'push' or 'kick' scooter wearing a helmet but does not refer to scooting. For the PDF see: Walk and have fun! [Poster, includes an image of a child on a scooter.]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3997/Feet-First-Poster-3--Be-creative--English.pdf Hikoi haere, hakinakina [Walk and have fun!’, poster, in Maori, includes an image of a child on a scooter.]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/4013/Feet-First-Poster-3--Be-creative--Mori.pdf and see also: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/resources/school-ethos-and-organisation/resources

An overview of pedestrian fatalities and injuries in New Zealand as they relate to driver behaviour including red-light running and failure to stop, ignoring signage etc.

This resource lists 11 ideas for teachers for a week of walking activities for a "Walk Our Children to School Week". Although American, some of these ideas are useful to a New Zealand situation as well.

WalkSafe is South Australia's pedestrian advocacy group. Its mission is to represent all South Australians in pedestrian matters. This item contains Volume 1, issue 1 of Walksafe SA - the newslwetter of the group and a pamphlet giving details.

In this article Ian Roberts comments upon the British Government's strategy statement on Physical Activity (March 1996) which aims to increase population levels of physical activity by promoting walking and cycling particularly among children.

This is a guidelines booklet about organising a programme around the International Walk to School Day. It provides some ideas, information and links to other useful resources.

Aims of the campaign are: to reduce vehicle pollution; to increase safety outside schools; to encourage parents and children to change their daily routine and walk regularly to and from school. This resource pack contains ideas and materials for use by children independently, for classroom use and for children and their parents together.

These posters are part of new series from the Education Portal of the New Zealand Transport Agency. These printable PDFs of posters focus on child pedestrian safety: 'Walk, scoot and skate safely! Stop, look and listen before crossing the road. Keep looking and listening for traffic while crossing' 'Kia tupato te hikoi me te papareti me te hupaika!' For the PDF see: 'Walk, scoot and skate safely!' [Poster, includes an image of children and an adult crossing at a controlled crossing.]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/9069/NTA-15762-Pedestrian-Poster-v3-A4-LR.PDF 'Kia tupato te hikoi me te papareti me te hupaika!' [Walk, scoot and skate safely!’, poster, in Maori, includes an image of children and an adult crossing at a controlled crossing.]: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/9283/Te-reo-WALKING-poster-A3-WEB.pdf and see also: http://education.nzta.govt.nz/resources/school-ethos-and-organisation/resources

Everyone benefits from walking. But walking needs to be safe and easy. Take a walk with your child and use this checklist to decide if your neighborhood is a friendly place to walk. Take heart if you find problems, there are ways you can make things better. First, you'll need to pick a place to walk, like the route to school, a friend's house or just somewhere fun to go. The second step involves the checklist. Read over the checklist before you go, and as you walk, note the locations of things you would like to change. At the end of your walk, give each question a rating. Then add up the numbers to see how you rated your walk overall. After you've rated your walk and identified any problem areas, the next step is to figure out what you can do to improve your community's score. You'll find both immediate answers and long-term solutions under "Improving Your Community's Score..." on the third page.

Safety features checklist for new or second hand nursery equipment - Walkers

This article reports on the paper presented by Dr Alessandra Canal to the Australasian College of surgeons' conference in Hobart.

A call for a ban on baby walkers from the Australian College of Paediatrics cannot be taken up because they cannot ban a product, just particular brands.

This review outlines the information available on education and promotional initiatives that aim to improve road safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The focus of the review is on educational programmes. This review takes evidence from new Zealand and international evaluations and other research on vulnerable groups and road safety education. The overall goal of this literature review is to bring together relevant international and new Zealand literature that could inform future practice in road safety education for pedestrians and cyclists in New Zealand.

Paper promotes physiological and psychological benefits of walking, in particular for children. Discusses role of schools, central government and local government. Briefly refers to traffic danger, noise and pollution.

'Walking bus' comprises two volunteer parents who escort a line of children on their journey to school. They walk along a set route collecting pupils at 'bus stops' on the way. Pack contains the information needed to set up and operate a walking bus.

This report from Safe Kids Worldwide focuses on pedestrian safety. It includes a focus on the issue of 'distracted' walking, pedestrians who are distracted by cell phones and digital music players. The report includes this 'Call to action': - "Research must be conducted to determine the causes of the negative trends and uncover effective means to reverse them. - Stakeholders must cast a new focus on education and behavior change about pedestrian safety for kids 14 to 19, while continuing education and programs that have been effective for younger kids. - Government at all levels must invest in infrastructure to make walking safer for kids of all ages, especially in and around school zones. - Each of us must commit to walking and driving without distraction. Distraction due to mobile technologies is an epidemic resulting in both deaths and injuries and must end." PDF available at: http://www.safekids.org/assets/docs/safety-basics/safety-tips-by-risk-area/Walking-Safely-Research-Report.pdf

This report concludes an inquiry into pedestrian safety in Victoria, Australia. The terms of reference for this particular report are listed below: To inquire into, consider and make recommendations on the incidence and prevention of pedestrian accidents, reporting on: (1) The characteristics of pedestrian accidents in urban and rural areas. (2) The over-representation of specific groups, particularly young children, older people and intoxicated persons, in pedestrian accidents. (3) Countermeasures to reduce the number and severity of pedestrian accidents with reference to road environment treatments, land use planning, behavioural change programmes and vehicle modifications. (4) The scope for new initiatives to reduce pedestrian accidents. (5) The need for changes to legislation or statutory requirements as a result of the inquiry. A number of useful recommendations are made after the Executive Summary.

This item from the ARTA/ Travel/Wise website is available to help users to create new interest in existing Walking School Buses or to help get one started: "Use this resource to cut and paste the graphic and translations you require for your school newsletter, flyer or other materials. Translations are available in Maori, Cook Island Maori, Traditional Chinese, Fijian, Hindi, Korean, Samoan, Somali, Tokelauan, Tongan, Tuvalu, Niuean and Tagalog (Filipino)." See also record # 8816. Available at: http://www.travelwise.org.nz/Schools/index.cfm?id=1163

Notes describing the Canadian experience in "Walking School Bus" projects.

Walking school buses are a safe, active and healthy way for children to get to school. And they're energy efficient and pollution free. A walking school bus is just as it sounds - an organised group of children walking to school together, with caregiver volunteers, the ‘drivers'. Volunteers pick up kids and drop them off at specific stops on a designated walking route. All the children are looked after by the volunteers, who ensure they arrive at school or their home stop safely. Many caregivers drive their kids to school because of safety fears. Walking school bus groups are focused around personal safety and road safety awareness. Kit contains: a book, 'The walking school bus - A guide for parents and teachers'; CD-ROM; transfers; school book labels; posters and postcards to advertise your 'buses' and meetings; travel cards to promote use of your bus; info cards on other walking buses, websites and road safety tips; feedback form. Copy 1 of the kit includes a video and an extra copy of the CD-ROM. In July 2006 the responsibility for this kit was passed from the EECA to Land Transport.

The walking school bus (WSB) concept aims to maximise child road safety on the school journey. It works by way of a group of families forming a roster to take turns at walking their children to school. This kit has been developed for families wanting to establish a WSB programme. The kit is made available at no cost to interested families and includes: pamphlet explaining WSB, hats for 'drivers' and children, fridge magnets and contact cards for names and telephone numbers, travel cards for children to complete and return for certificates of achievement, cool drink bottles.

This is a publication from ARC which profiles the Walking School Bus concept.

Walking school buses are a safe, active and healthy way for children to get to school. And they're energy efficient and pollution free. A walking school bus is just as it sounds - an organised group of children walking to school together, with caregiver volunteers, the ‘drivers' and 'conductors'. Adult volunteers pick up kids and drop them off at specific stops at set times on a designated walking route. All the children are looked after by the volunteers, who ensure they arrive at school or their home stop safely. Walking school buses give children a sense of independence although they are part of a team. They provide a safe, healthy and fun way to travel to and from school, and both children and adults enjoy keeping fit. Many caregivers drive their kids to school because of safety fears. Walking school bus groups are focused around personal safety and road safety awareness. In July 2006 the responsibility for this kit was passed from the EECA to Land Transport. This 'national' version from Land Transport NZ in Wellington comes in a cardboard box/ folder and includes: stickers, bus 'tickets', certificates, pamphlets, a poster and a booklet: 'The walking school bus coordinators' guide'.

Walking school buses are a safe, active and healthy way for children to get to school. And they're energy efficient and pollution free. A walking school bus is just as it sounds - an organised group of children walking to school together, with caregiver volunteers, the ‘drivers' and 'conductors'. Adult volunteers pick up kids and drop them off at specific stops at set times on a designated walking route. All the children are looked after by the volunteers, who ensure they arrive at school or their home stop safely. Walking school buses give children a sense of independence although they are part of a team. They provide a safe, healthy and fun way to travel to and from school, and both children and adults enjoy keeping fit. Many caregivers drive their kids to school because of safety fears. Walking school bus groups are focused around personal safety and road safety awareness. In July 2006 the responsibility for this kit was passed from the EECA to Land Transport. This programme is from Travel/Wise, managed by ARTA for the Auckland Region. The kit includes documentation in sections: introduction, resources, funding, health and safety, incentives to keep the bus going, newsletters and local information, notes and handouts, forms. It is made up of a large ring binder which is intended to have paperwork from running the 'bus' filed in it.

BACKGROUND: Walking school buses (WSBs) offer a potentially healthier way for children to get to school while reducing traffic congestion. A number of pressing societal challenges make it timely to evaluate evidence of their value. METHODS: Studies that focused solely on WSBs were identified through online and manual literature searches. Twelve WSB studies involving a total of 9169 children were reviewed. Study aims, designs, methods, outcomes, and barriers and facilitators were examined. RESULTS: WSBs were found to be associated with increased prevalence of walking to school and general activity levels although not always significantly. Time constraints emerged as barriers to WSBs, impacting on recruitment of volunteers and children to the WSBs. Facilitators of WSBs included children enjoying socializing and interacting with the environment. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence of the health value of WSBs was demonstrated, along with recommendations for the design of future studies. By tackling barriers of time constraints, volunteer recruitment, and parents' safety concerns while at the same time, increasing convenience and time savings for families, future WSBs are likely to be more sustainable and taken up by more schools. Implications for future innovation in school health were identified.

This short article introduces the concept of the 'walking school bus' and announces that guidelines are available from the EECA website www.eeca.govt.nz (follow the Transport signpost).

In late 2004, a self-completion questionnaire was issued to the coordinators of all walking school bus (WSB) routes known to operate in the Auckland Region. This report documents the key findings of this survey, and places them in a regional context. Includes statistical data.

This report briefly reviews the current state of knowledge regarding Walking School Buses in Auckland and elsewhere, discusses the study methodology, presents key findings, and reflects on these findings in light of the local context of child pedestrian safety.

"Walking school bus routes are expanding rapidly for many of Auckland's primary schools, but children living in poorer areas are missing out, according to Robin Kearns from the University of Auckland..." This article explains further as well as introducing readers to the concept of walking school buses overall.

"This report tells the story of Gladstone School's walking bus after 15 months of scheduled service, presents evidence from stakeholders, and asks a series of evaluative questions about its effectiveness before reaching some conclusions."

This article focuses on health promotion and the associated benefits of walking as a means of transport. It also discusses the growth and development of Walking School Buses as a concept.

This bilingual reader (Vietnamese/English) is aimed at preschoolers and their parents and tells a story about a safe walk to school.

Pamphlet promotes school walking buses to parents using a "StreetWise Ranger" science fiction theme. EECA interested in reducing the number of car trips and carbon emissions. Includes why walk to school? ; why did EECA become involved in setting up walking school buses? ; how do you start a walking school bus and success in towns and cities throughout New Zealand.