Street display puts focus on road safety
Ungiven gifts are adorning Heuheu Street in Taupō this week, as a sign of remembrance for those who lost their lives on our district’s roads last year.
The display is part of the annual Road Safety Week and features 22 plinths, representing people aged between eight and 59, with each plinth featuring an ungiven gift atop it.
Taupō District Council road safety coordinator Sarah Wraight said the display symbolises the gifts family and friends would not be able to give to their loved ones.
“We wanted to create something visual that really spoke to people about the crashes on our local roads and create conversations within the Taupō District community,” she said. “This display shows both the number of lives lost and gives a personal reminder of their age, gender and a gift they can never be given.”
Road Safety Week was a national initiative and a time to reflect on our own behaviour on the road and how we could make our roads safer, she said. This year the theme for the week was “Step Up for Safe Streets”.
Ms Wraight said to save lives on the road everyone needed to take responsibility.
“The victims of road crashes represented in Ungiven Gifts were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, colleagues and friends,” she said. “It’s important to see how our driving behaviour can impact on the lives of so many.”
Alcohol and drugs were the main contributing factors in the crashes that claimed the 22 lives. All drivers needed to be responsible for themselves and their passengers which meant driving safe, sober and not under the influence of drugs, she said.
“We all need to pitch in and be part of the solution.”
The display was created with support from local businesses and people who gave up their own time to support the initiative.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.9% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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