Associate Transport Minister Michael Woodhouse has welcomed the publication of a new guide aimed at improving road safety around rural schools.
''Safer Journeys for Rural Schools is part of the rural schools road safety programme - a series of initiatives to improve safety outside rural schools - and is a further milestone in the government's implementation of the Safer Journeys strategy.
''We all share responsibility for improving road safety and this new guide will be a great resource for rural communities who want to ensure their journeys to and from school are as safe as possible.
The publication of the Safer Journeys rural schools guide is the second of a three-step programme.
The Government has already introduced a trial of variable speed limit signs to reduce the speed of traffic past schools where there is an identified pedestrian safety risk.
This trial involves more than 20 schools and ends in July this year.
The final step of the programme will use the rural schools guide to assess the degree of road safety risk around all rural schools and identify actions needed to improve safety at the highest risk schools.