Showing posts with label Road safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Road safety. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Road Safety Trust
RWNZ is interested to note that while its application for funding to put up billboards bearing the 20kmh past a school bus safety message failed to meet the Road Safety Trust's "innovative" threshold criteria , the Trust gave funding to itself for its driver distraction campaign to put a safety message on tracksuits worn by referees at the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship competitions this winter. So no-one's ever worn a tracksuit with a slogan on it before? Yeah right!
Road Safety Trust
Community groups including Rural Women New Zealand are demanding to know why they cannot get grants from the Crown-owned Road Safety Trust, despite it having more than $10 million in savings.
The independent trust is funded by a portion of profits from the sale of personalised plates and one of its aims is to hand out money for community safety initiatives.
The trust has been spending money on its own national campaign to reduce driver distraction and has rejected 14 applications from community groups for the year to June because they did not meet its criteria.
Among those rejected were the organisations Rural Women and Safekids.
Rural Women asked for money to create signs to remind drivers of the speed limit when passing school buses.
One of its national councillors, Jacky Stafford, believes the initiative should have been supported.
"This trust says that they will do specific road safety projects - this is a specific project ... Surely keeping our kids safe on roads has to be a top priority."
Road Safety Trust chair Yvonne Sharp says it gives out grants only for innovative projects but is now signalling that funding criteria will be reviewed.
"What we fund is innovation and, very unfortunately, none of the applications we got actually complied with that funding criteria.
"I think that circumstances always change and I think that I'll be recommending to the trust that we look very closely at the criteria."
Transport Minister Steven Joyce told Morning Report he will talk to the trust about why it is not paying out money to community groups and whether it is doing another agency's job.
The independent trust is funded by a portion of profits from the sale of personalised plates and one of its aims is to hand out money for community safety initiatives.
The trust has been spending money on its own national campaign to reduce driver distraction and has rejected 14 applications from community groups for the year to June because they did not meet its criteria.
Among those rejected were the organisations Rural Women and Safekids.
Rural Women asked for money to create signs to remind drivers of the speed limit when passing school buses.
One of its national councillors, Jacky Stafford, believes the initiative should have been supported.
"This trust says that they will do specific road safety projects - this is a specific project ... Surely keeping our kids safe on roads has to be a top priority."
Road Safety Trust chair Yvonne Sharp says it gives out grants only for innovative projects but is now signalling that funding criteria will be reviewed.
"What we fund is innovation and, very unfortunately, none of the applications we got actually complied with that funding criteria.
"I think that circumstances always change and I think that I'll be recommending to the trust that we look very closely at the criteria."
Transport Minister Steven Joyce told Morning Report he will talk to the trust about why it is not paying out money to community groups and whether it is doing another agency's job.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Taranaki Road Safety Day Invitation to attend
RWNZ has received an invitation to the Roadsafe Taranaki "School Bus Safety Project" mini-conference planned for 26th November, 10-12noon, at New Plymouth Club. This event will present the findings of recent research, undertaken by local school children, to identify safety issues relating to travel involving schools buses along with their suggestions for improving safety.
After the main presentations there will be opportunities for those who attend to visit the display stands of each school and speak to each school group invidually.
For further information contact Channa Perry, Safe Community Programme Manager, New Plymouth Injury Safe (NPiS), Health Promotion Unit, Taranaki District Health Board, Phone DDI 06 753 7777 ext.8792, Email npis@tdhb.org.nz
After the main presentations there will be opportunities for those who attend to visit the display stands of each school and speak to each school group invidually.
For further information contact Channa Perry, Safe Community Programme Manager, New Plymouth Injury Safe (NPiS), Health Promotion Unit, Taranaki District Health Board, Phone DDI 06 753 7777 ext.8792, Email npis@tdhb.org.nz
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