Pedestrian and Cyclist Road Safety Framework - Introduction

Together, pedestrians and cyclists account for around 14 percent of all road deaths and 35 percent of deaths on urban roads each year in New Zealand. Poor safety perceptions are a significant barrier to increased uptake of walking and cycling for day-to-day transport. The government has stated that improving pedestrian and cyclist safety is a priority in its New Zealand Transport Strategy (NZTS), in the Road Safety to 2010 Strategy (RS 2010) and in Getting there - on foot, by cycle (Getting There), its strategy for advancing walking and cycling in New Zealand transport (2005).

This Pedestrian and Cyclist Road Safety Framework (Framework) outlines a comprehensive approach for effectively reducing risks to, and improving safety for, pedestrians and cyclists.

The Framework will:

• guide the work of government agencies, ensuring a co-ordinated national approach to improving road safety for pedestrians and cyclists;
• support alignment of national, regional and local efforts to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists with the approach and the broader objectives of Getting There
• provide guidance, in association with Getting There for support for road controlling authorities (RCAs) who are responsible for improving access and safety for pedestrians and cyclists in their road environment; and
• support the effective integration of safety into walking and cycling promotion efforts.

Sections 1 and 2 of the Framework outline:

• the strategic context and safety issues for pedestrians and cyclists; and
• an integrated approach to reducing risk and improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists that incorporates engineering, education and enforcement.

Section 3 of the Framework outlines:

• the initial work programme undertaken by Land Transport New Zealand (Land Transport NZ) and the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to implement pedestrian and cyclist safety initiatives under the framework to the end of the 2005/2006 financial year. It describes the various initiatives undertaken, identifying actions to date, and potential next steps.

The Framework should be read in conjunction with the following documents (available on the Ministry of Transport website):

• RS 2010 strategy;
• Getting There and the Getting There Strategic Implementation Plan 2006-2009. This later document identifies a national direction and new national initiatives for the first critical three years of the Getting There strategy; and
• summaries of crash, hospitalisation and travel survey data for walking and cycling (due for publication late 2006).

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