Be a Road Safety Hero

Road safety coordinators across Canterbury have joined forces, creating a region wide campaign for Road Safety Week 2026.

This year’s campaign runs from May 4 to 10 and shines a light on both fatalities and serious injuries, reinforcing the message that every crash has a ripple effect across families and communities.

“By coming together as a Canterbury road safety collective with New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Hato Hone St John, and other frontline first responders, we’re telling the community how many people are impacted by serious crashes, Canterbury Road Safety Coordinators’ spokesperson Lucy Mehrtens said.

261 people were killed or seriously injured on Canterbury roads in 2025. Fatal crashes are often the focus in statistics, but serious injury crashes also have devastating and lifelong consequences.

“We had a focus on including serious injury crashes in our theme for Road Safety week this year, as they often impact more than just the person that is injured. The ripple effect of mobility, mental health, and employment can have a big impact on financial stability and family wellbeing in someone’s life.

Ahead of the campaign in February all nine mayors from across the Canterbury region were bought together and filmed to capture their reaction to seeing the total number of fatalities and serious injuries for the first time.

While each mayor was aware the of statistics from each of their districts, they were all shocked when they heard the regions total number of 261 and what it represents.

Filming continued to capture a message from each mayor to be shared within their districts during Road Safety Week, a national remembrance week, co-ordinated by road safety charity Brake, to help communities lead the charge in making sure everyone gets home safe on our roads.