Police profile: Paul Gurney

Senior Constable Paul Gurney on the West Coast wants young people to stay alert when they're riding their bikes – something he knows from personal experience.

A School Community Officer based in Greymouth, Paul is a keen cyclist and rides to work each day.

"We have real life stories that we bring up with school students. I tell them my bike ride to work is only 4 minutes, but even given my job with the Police, that 4 minutes is often the most dangerous time in my day."

He goes on to explain to students how to look for hazards and react in time while out bike riding, something he has had to do numerous times himself.

Paul and colleague Terri Middleton serve the entire West Coast, 36 schools stretching from Karamea to Haast. That's a similar distance to the drive between Hamilton and Wellington.

Their duties include delivering practical cycle skills training to students aged 9-12, towing a large custom trailer loaded with bikes and helmets behind their patrol car. The bike programme has been in place since 2000, with sponsorship from Fulton Hogan and NBS (Nelson Building Society).

"We teach those students the road rules as it pertains to bikes. We give them a good three hours of road safety," says Paul.

He's keenly aware that in 4 years some of them will be getting their learner licence.

"When they're riding bikes with us, they're learning to keep left, look over their shoulder, they're trying to read the intentions of all the drivers out there.

"If you do this right on your bike, then when you start driver licence training at age 16, you'll find it a lot easier to drive safely."

As part of his road safety work, Paul also drops by schools at bell-time to check how the school patrol is getting on.

He was at Paroa School the other day. It’s on one side of State Highway 6, the houses are on the other. The 80km/h speed limit drops to 40 km/h by way of electronic signs but there’s still plenty of traffic.

"It took them 10-15 minutes to find a gap in the traffic big enough to get 20-30 students across in one go. They have to get all the kids across in one hit, and then they're done," he says.

"There's a lot of work you can find for yourself, working with schools. We have our school traffic safety teams – the road crossings and the bus wardens. We talk with senior students about the factors contributing to crashes, things like inattention and distraction, speed, drink driving. Road safety is a massive part of the role."