About 10,000 vests will be distributed to primary-age pupils in the city this week, part of a Dunedin City Council initiative to ensure the safety of pupils while encouraging more active transport.
Council road safety education co-ordinator Aukje van Aalst said it was hoped the initiative would encourage more children to walk, bike and scoot to and from school, making them more visible to drivers while doing so.
Just over half of the $50,000 cost was funded by the NZ Transport Agency, and the rest was covered by ratepayers.
The vests are part of the council’s safe and sustainable travel and road safety education programmes, which work with Dunedin schools on road safety improvements, reducing speed limits around schools, cycle skills training, bikes in schools projects and school travel planning.
