Safer Coromandel: ‘People don’t come here to die’

Supported by ACC, a unique community-led injury prevention programme is helping keep people safe on the Coromandel Peninsula, one of the country's most popular holiday destinations.

"People come here for a holiday, they don't come here to die. And we want to try and stop that from happening."

Sergeant Tony Mumford has worked for the New Zealand Police force in Thames for decades and is hugely passionate about keeping the Coromandel region safe.

That's why he's part of Safer Coromandel, a unique community-led injury prevention programme. It was formed 12 years ago, when emergency services in the region noticed a trend in how people were getting injured during the summer months.

The population doubles over summer, as holiday-makers flock to baches to enjoy the Coromandel's beautiful beaches.

"Everything you want is here," Tony explains.

"You've got the mountains, you've got the river, you've got the sea, you've got the beaches."

But the swell in people also brings a rise in injuries, leading to the need for Safer Coromandel to be established.

Our data shows there were 2,033 new ACC claims for injuries in the Thames-Coromandel district in January last year, at the height of the holiday season. But these numbers dropped to a yearly low of 1,158 in July as winter closed in.

A shared passion for saving lives

Partly funded by ACC, Safer Coromandel brings together the emergency services, local councils and many other organisations to help keep the community safe.

It was initially focused on the summer months but has now been widened to keep both the local community and visitors safe all year round.

"Safer Coromandel is a community trying to save lives and reduce serious harm," says Ingrid Le Fevre from the Thames-Coromandel District Council.

"It's fantastic to have buy-in from 17 partner agencies. It's a phenomenal undertaking but everyone is so passionate about saving lives."

ACC contributed $10,000 to Safer Coromandel in 2023 and also helped to create an action plan.

The safety messaging aligns closely with ACC's 'Have a hmmm' campaign, which encourages all New Zealanders to stop and take a moment to assess the risks before getting stuck in at home, work or play.

If you get hurt, who gets harmed? Stop and 'Have a hmmm'

Support from MediaWorks helps get the Safer Coromandel safety messages out there through social media, radio advertising and billboards. Promotional teams also visit events and beaches to engage with the public directly.

The main focus areas are water safety, road safety, fire risk and alcohol.

"Now we're definitely starting to see that we're having less and less carnage, less alcohol-related incidents and less fatalities, which is fantastic," Ingrid says.

The number of ACC injury claims have also steadily decreased, dropping by around 2,600 claims over the last five years.

'I've never pulled anyone out alive'

Another member of the Safer Coromandel crew, Shane Bromley, has been with the fire service for 42 years and believes education is the key to keeping people safe.

"In all that time, I've never, ever pulled anyone out of a house fire alive," says Shane, deputy chief for the Thames Fire Brigade.

"So it's about educating people and installing smoke alarms. And it's also about the traffic accidents - teaching people to drive properly, drive to the conditions and get there safely.

"It's easier to educate people than to come out and put the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

"We've all only got so much money for education but, when we're all working together for the same goal, we can spread it a bit further and we've achieved a heck of a lot more."

Getting the public on board

Police officer Tony says the Safer Coromandel team ramps up its efforts over the warmer months to keep pace with the surge in population.

"We try to boost things over the holiday period when we know there's a lot of people from out of town coming in, just to have some awareness for them so they change their driving styles and make sure they're safe," he says.

"I think it's getting some good recognition, you often see vehicles driving around with the 'Stay Alive on 25' stickers on the back. So there is awareness and there's been a lot of support from the community."

Ambulance officer John Armitt has also noticed a rise in that recognition.

"The public has been responding really well to our messaging," says John, the Hauraki-Coromandel area operations manager for Hato Hone St John.

"When the Safer Coromandel programme was instigated, it was around when we had lots of alcohol use over the summer, especially with teenagers, and we had lots of incidents related to the sea. Since then, the numbers of incidents have dropped dramatically," he adds.

"That's allowed us to concentrate more on our primary health function, which is servicing the community and transporting those that are really in need to Thames Hospital."

John's hope is for everyone to leave the Coromandel with fond memories, rather than harrowing tales of injuries, drownings or road accidents.

"We want people to come here and have a safe summer, enjoy themselves and then go home and have some really good stories to tell."

ACC provides crucial support

The funding and other support provided to Safer Coromandel by ACC has helped lay the foundations for the programme's success.

"Without that amazing support from ACC, MediaWorks and others in the past, we wouldn't have got to where we are now," says Ingrid, who works in the region as a road safety education advisor.

"Lives have been saved, and other incidents avoided, purely because we've gained this amazing partnership funding. We couldn't do this without that support, so it's crucial really."

Lisa McGilvray from MediaWorks says aligning with ACC's 'Have a hmmm' campaign has been hugely helpful in getting the safety messages out to the public.

"Thanks to ACC, it's been really easy to streamline all those campaigns together this year," Lisa says.

"Like with the themes of 'Have a hmmm', we're just telling people to slow down, stop, take a minute and think about what you're doing before you do it."

For Ingrid, one of the most upsetting aspects of her role in road safety is reading the incident reports from fatal crashes. It's something she's hoping to do less of.

"It's a terrible thing to read, you don't want to read those reports," she says.

"So I don't want to read them anymore - I really want everyone to slow down, wear your seat belt, and just take it easy on our roads.

"We want you to enjoy our region for what it is, it's an amazing area and we want you to come back and enjoy it time and time again."

Follow Safer Coromandel

For more information and to support the cause, please follow the Safer Coromandel page on Facebook.