About

The Yellow Ribbon Road Safety Alliance was set up in NZ in 2016 by Road Safety Education Limited (a charity which runs road safety education programmes for high school students) and Brake (a road safety charity which supports victims of road trauma and works to prevent road death and serious injury). The Alliance was set up based on a similar initiative in Australia where they were lighting up their Bridges, Opera house and statues and flying yellow ribbons.  This led to significant engagement from state governments and communities coming together to change peoples attitudes to road safety.

The current partners of the Alliance include Road Safety Education Limited (Secretariat) , Brake, BOC, NZ Steel, Bridgestone, VTNZ and Toyota.

In 2020 The Alliance partnered with Vector Lights Auckland Harbour Bridge to light up this national icon during that years Road Safety Week and has continued to support the event ever since.  Other cities and towns have joined in across the country to support and raise awareness of road safety. These are the icons that have been lit up:

• Vector Lights Auckland Harbour Bridge – Auckland
• Anzac Parade Bridge – Hamilton
• #LoveTaupo sign – Taupo
• Yellow ribbons in shop windows – Otorohanga
• Clock tower – New Plymouth
• Trees – Inglewood
• Glockenspiel Clock – Stratford
• Water tower – Hawera
• Clock tower – Carterton
• Town square – Masterton
• The Fantail – Upper Hutt
• The Michael Fowler Centre – Wellington
• Opera House – Oamaru
• Trees – Queenstown
• Holcim silo at the Timaru Port

Christchurch:

• New Brighton Pier
• Bridge of Remembrance
• Botanical Gardens
• Vaka A Hina sculpture
• Captain Scott Plaza
• Fanfare sulpture (on state highway one)
• Bowker Fountain (Victoria square)
• SH1 Airport overbridge
• Northern Corridor bridges 

Oamaru Opera house

One of the key ways you can be involved is to organise events and activities to support road safety and raise money for local road safety initiatives or charities working in this area.  Some ideas include:

• Wear yellow to work (or school) days
• Yellow morning tea shouts
• Tying yellow ribbons to your car 
• Wearing yellow or yellow ribbon

The main purpose of raising awareness about road safety and the trauma that results is to encourage everyone to think about how they are as road users and identify anything they can personally do to improve how they drive, act as a passenger or use our transport network.  While we need to have enforcement and investment into safer roads, vehicles and adopting appropriate speed limits, often crashes are simple mistakes we make through tiredness, distraction and impatience. The Alliance encourages all road users to pledge to make better decisions when on the road to minimise these mistakes

Auckland Harbour Bridge