Coffee cups' road safety messages for Hawke's Bay motorists

Hastings senior firefighter Allan Brown's recently launched Te Kotuku bilingual coffee mug and phone app now includes road safety messages. Photo / File

A fire safety message campaign launched by a local fireman has been expanded to include key road safety messages this holiday period.

About 9000 biodegradable coffee cups have been printed, complete with safety messages in both te reo Māori and English via QR codes.

The idea is the brainchild of Hastings senior firefighter Allan Brown which was first launched as part of Māori Language Week.

"We're just carrying that campaign on," he explained.

"We're reminding everybody about their safety on the road."

The message of the current campaign, which runs until January 11, is to 'make it click'.

"We are promoting and supporting the road safety messages that the police put out nationally."

Brown said the safety reminder was as much about looking out for people on the road as it was about the wellbeing of emergency response staff.

"It's about the health and wellbeing of emergency response people too.

"[Attending motor vehicle crashes] does take a toll."

With messages in both te reo Māori and English, it was about reaching as many people as possible, he said.

The design of the coffee cup is also includes rainbow colours representing the LGBT community with a kōtuku, white heron, flying through as it is a "very special bird" in Māoridom.

The biodegradable coffee cups are available at a range of local cafes.