South Canterbury Road Safety (SCRS) works across the Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie Districts to promote road safety. Our aim is to reduce incidents of road trauma, and fatal and serious crashes throughout South Canterbury.
We run events and education programmes to target identified road safety issues in our area.
Community involvement is essential to achieve our road safety targets. We work closely with other road safety partners, like Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Hate Hone St John, Kaitiaki o Ara - Students Against Dangerous Driving, South Canterbury Neighbourhood Support, NZTA, ACC, Automobile Association and many others to achieve this goal. We also work collaboratively with our colleagues at Waitaki Road Safety and Ashburton District Council to share resources and ideas.
Key Focus Areas
Driver Licencing / Training
Learning to drive? Check out our directory of local driving instructors and find tools to learn the road code.
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Walking / Cycling
We work with schools and community groups on safe active transport modes including walking, cycling, and other forms of micro-mobility such as skateboards, scooters and mobility scooters. We teach road users how to share the roads and shared paths with other road users.
Motorcycle Safety
We work with local Ride Forever trainers to promote motorcycle safety focusing on having the right gear, riding to the conditions and to keep learning and improving skills as a rider.
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Intersection Safety
Death and serious injury crashes at intersections have increased in recent years.
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Restraints / Seatbelts
Child restraints play a very important role in keeping children safe on our roads. Under New Zealand law, all children under seven years of age must use an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size.
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Driving to the Conditions
As conditions change, how you drive will need to adjust. Find out more about seasonal driving needs e.g. driving during holidays, winter conditions and summer to keep yourself and others safe.
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Impairment: Alcohol & Drugs
Alcohol is the largest individual contributing factor to crashes on South Canterbury roads. However, drivers can also be impaired by drugs (including prescription medicines) and fatigue.
School Education Programmes
We work with schools and health promotion educators to deliver active transport and micromobility training. We also work with schools to find solutions to potential road safety issues.
International Visitor Drivers
If you're from overseas, New Zealand roads are probably different to what you're used to. Distances may seem short on paper, but our roads can be narrower than you're used to, cover hilly terrain, and vary from motorways to unsealed gravel roads. Here are some tips for international visitors about driving in South Canterbury.
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