Programme sets new pace for safety

COURTEOUS DRIVER AHEAD: Signs like this will be popping up in car windows in Whangarei this month as part of the Sport Northland Pace Car Project.

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Whangarei Leader

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A new type of mobile speed bump has Whangarei setting the pace in the national battle against dangerous driving.

Sport Northland is launching an initiative like New Zealand has never seen before – the Pace Car Project.

Sport Northland 10,000 steps programme facilitator Janine Moy says the Pace Car Project is a simple initiative which asks motorists in the Whangarei community to sign a pledge whereby they agree to drive courteously around other road users such as walkers and cyclists, and keep to the speed limit.

By signing the pledge, drivers make a conscious effort to abide by the traffic rules and also display the Pace Car window sticker letting the public know they are a Pace Car driver. The project aims to create a safer road environment for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as a more pleasant environment for people to be active in. So far 16 organisations in Whangarei have signed up including Plunket and Media Works.

Olympian and current World Triathlon Champion Sam Warriner likes the idea.

"I can see the potential benefit to our community if the public buy into this. I think the appeal of this programme is in its simplicity, it's easy to get behind, as simple as sticking a logo on your car and driving sensibly. Hopefully people will really get behind it and make our district a safer place to enjoy recreational activities," says Ms Warriner.

Those who sign up to Sport Northlands Pace Car project help keep Whangarei roads safer by actively lowering drivers speeds on local streets pace car drivers effectively become mobile speed bumps.

Plunket Northland area manager Diane Lawson says it is now up to the Whangarei community to make it happen.

"I think the Pace Car programme has the potential to make it safer in our neighbourhoods for children and adults to cycle and walk, allowing for the fact that the community really needs to get behind the program to achieve critical mass."

Becoming a Pace Car is a simple process, participants sign the pledge form and a decal is sent out to them to display on their car window. This form can be accessed from the Pace Cars website www.pacecars.co.nz or Sport Northland's office.

- © Fairfax NZ News