Road Accident Remembrance Day - 2016

The Road Traffic Accident (RTA) Trauma Charitable Trust is organising a Road Accident Remembrance Day on 22 October 2016.

At the Road Traffic Accident Trauma Charitable Trust we understand the complexities of road trauma in our community. Since 2010 we have provided free community education and counselling services to assist those that have been affected by road trauma which is largely an unmet need in the community. We are the first Charitable Trust of its kind in New Zealand.

In 2012 we formed a partnership with the Canterbury Charity Hospital Trust. In 2017 the Hospital donated an office space to the Trust in their newly built Warner Mauger House at 351 Harewood Road, Christchurch.

In 2016 the Road Traffic Accident Trauma Charitable Trust organised New Zealand’s first Road Accident Remembrance Day. This is a large public event to remember those that had passed away in the roads in the Canterbury Region, acknowledge the survivors, thank those involved in the post accident care and recovery and to relay important road safety messages. In 2017, the Trust introduced the Canterbury Road Trauma Awards.

The Road Accident Remembrance Day includes the families of those that lost loved ones who passed away on the roads in Canterbury Region over the past year. To date, the Trust has worked with over 259 families. Some families have traveled as far as from Australia and across New Zealand for the event.

This year, we have introduced Local Legend Ambassadors to promote and endorse the Canterbury Road Trauma Awards so that we can find truly deserving award recipients. Our goal is to attain quality Local Legends, they will be well connected, respected 'go-getters' in our community. Who have the aptitude to echo the philosophy and legacy of the Canterbury Road Trauma Awards by helping us seek out deserving individuals, to make them truly shine.

Local Legends will be represented from the East Coast to the jagged peaks of the Southern Alps in Canterbury. They will be connected to other Legends in a shared collective network, giving visibility by continue to profile the ongoing legacy of these Awards.

The Trust recognises the New Zealand community is struggling to come to terms with the with significant road toll, serious injuries crashes and the widespread effects it causes in our community. This can obviously have significant effects within families and in our communities. We understand the road system is far more complex and we would like bring some certainty to the general public about what prevention measures are currently being implemented in the roading, transport, infrastructure, road safety, emergency services and post trauma care sectors. We will bring industry experts and those within the post-accident care and recovery sectors to explain, first-hand what is being done to reduce road trauma in our community.

We plan on going local, this includes the heart of our rural communities and to other communities most deeply affected.

The fourth annual Road Accident Remembrance Day will be held in North Hagley Park, Christchurch on Saturday, 9 November 2019.