Be a Road Safety Hero - Road Safety Week 2024

Did you know that almost 1.2 million people die on roads worldwide every year?

How about the 119 deaths on New Zealand roads already in 2024?

As road safety professionals, our mission is not driven by financial gain. Instead, it is rooted in a deep commitment to prevent the pain and loss that road trauma brings. Our goal is simple: to ensure that our loved ones return home safely every day. We undertake this work out of genuine care and concern for the well-being of all road users.

Abley took part in Road Safety Week which ran between 20-26 May. The theme of the week was 'Be a road safety hero', recognising everyone who helps to make our roads safer. The week is a chance to advocate and educate New Zealanders on road safety, explaining how we can all play a part in making journeys safer for everyone.

Next time you get behind the wheel, consider how you can be a Road Safety Hero. We urge you to consider this the next time you think about going over the speed limit or delaying the replacement of your tyres until your warrant check. Reconsider that extra drink or driving while you're tired because you're not that far from home. It only takes one moment for something to go wrong, and the consequences can be devastating for you or someone else.

Consider how you can use our roads safely, speak up for safe and healthy journeys with your mates, and advocate for proven solutions like the Safe System approach.

At Abley, we are lucky to have our offices filled with passionate professionals who work hard to improve our roads across the motu. 

We took Road Safety Week as an opportunity to showcase five of our Road Safety Heroes on our LinkedIn page. You can find these below.

Captain Clare-Voyant (Clare Cassidy)

Clare has the superpower to see into the future… at least in a road safety sense.

With her vast talents, safety auditing is where she truly shines, bringing her powerful personality and extensive experience to the forefront. Rest assured, she uses her abilities for good, meticulously assessing schemes and projects to ensure the best outcomes for our clients—and for you, our everyday heroes.

Clare most enjoys using her powers to assess schemes and projects that are out of the ordinary. Whether she’s developing bespoke safe system assessments for rail audits or tackling transitional and tactical projects, Clare’s super sight slices through distractions. She has a sixth sense for how infrastructure will be used and perceived in the real world by mortals.

Recently, Captain Clare-Voyant unleashed her powers, completing over 30 safety audits at public road and pedestrian level crossings across the Wairarapa—faster than a speeding bullet. She delivered the mission ahead of schedule, on budget, and to the Abley super-standard.

Dale ‘Reddy’ Roadsafe (Dale Harris)

Dale uses her powers across the transport, geospatial and road safety domains to pursue her lifelong mission to Protect People, Prevent Injury and Preserve Families from the consequences of road trauma. She quickly reviews large networks and assesses how they can be made safer. She used her skills to predict the risks associated with straight-through crashes at over 1,700 rural crossroads across New Zealand. Given the potentially catastrophic outcomes associated with these crashes, she has given local authorities the ability to identify risk on their networks and proactively improve these sites to prevent future trauma.

Moving at the speed of light, she deploys her powers across Australia, New Zealand and North America. Despite the differences between these roading environments, they face similar challenges. Dale’s experience and expertise means she is continually developing her powers to identify, and implement solutions to improve safety on our roads.

Super Jay (Jay Baththana)

Super Jay aims to ensure everyone has an (in)visible force field that absorbs impact and prevents injuries in the event of a crash. Using tools in his trusty safety belt, he helps deploy technology to protect our tangata, whānau, and tamariki when using cars – by ensuring children are in the right car seats or deploying cameras to check we put away our phones when driving. He often comes across people, near and far, who do not follow the rules and it is his mission to pursue vigilance, visibility and vehicle safety.

Jay’s key success was to identify high-risk parts of the road network for safety camera deployment. His powers ensure our whānau are kept safe while driving for work or pleasure. His super grin gets bigger as the road toll gets smaller.

Super Swift Rebecca (Rebecca Teal-Ireland)

Super Swift Rebecca has x-ray vision and can see through network safety challenges to understand the data and applications that will better inform analysis and decision making. Her mantra is Awareness, Alertness, and Asphalt! Supported by her magical safety toolbox (powered by FME and GIS), she analyses, prioritises, and develops strategic and tactical interventions, achieving better outcomes for clients at less cost, and a safer road network for all.

She has recently taken curve risk analysis to the next level. Curves, particularly the out of context ones that surprise drivers, pose a greater safety risk but are all too common across Australasia. Her work goes beyond traditional analytical approaches and considers driver factors such as reaction times to achieve better treatment placement. By reducing crash risk, she keeps the network moving effectively, efficiently, and safely.

Professor X-ceptional (Xinghao Chen)

Xinghao harnesses her superpower of retrocognition to understand road safety risk and how speed can be made safe and appropriate in all circumstance. With her mantra of Guarding, Guiding and Good Governance, her focus is on consistent and logical speeds making the roads safer for all - from around schools, to across your neighbourhood, city or the country. Her ability also empowers communities to understand these principles and take proactive steps towards a safer network.

Faster than a speeding bullet, Xinghao has worked on speed management projects across the country from Kingsland to Kumara, from Otūmoetai to Ōkārito, no place is too big or too small for her to bring her superpowers to bear.