<< Back to Road Safety

Youth and community projects

The right track

Auckland City Council is pleased to have the Eduk8 Trust run the Right Track programme in Auckland city this year. The Right Track is an innovative, multi dimensional, interactive programme that looks at the issue of young people and their driving behaviours.

The programme was first developed and introduced  in  partnership by Eduk8 Trust and  Police staff  Senior Sergeant Mike Stopforth and Sergeant Marko Radojkovich who were discouraged by the failure of the system in stopping young people from damaging themselves and others through their driving behaviour. They joined forces with John Finch who has vast experience working with youth and together they came up with the Right Track programme.

In Auckland city the courses have engaged youth who are influential and leaders in their own communities and are prepared to ensure that they forward the information to peers within their school community by presenting at assemblies and holding forums.

Every young learner is supported by one or more of their support networks at all times. Sessions include a formal video interview by NZ Police about their driving behaviours, courtroom and holding cell experience. They also have hard hitting learning presentations from the NZ Police Serious Crash Squad, a funeral director, an embalmer, Brain Injury Trust staff and a mother that has experienced the grief of losing her son in a motor vehicle crash.

The learners are also challenged in the outdoors to become equipped with risk management skills. On a personal level they come face to face with a victim of a drunk driver, share this person's remarkable survival story, and start to understand the devastation that is created through drink driving.

The course finishes with seeing a road crash set up, trauma ward visit and finally a graduation. This Right Track programme is well received by both the youth attending and their family support person and this is shown in the positive evaluations received.

To watch a short current affaire piece profiling the Right Track click the link below and choose "Reality Check" under related video heading.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1491421

Students Against Driving Drunk

Students Against Driving Drunk - SADD is a peer education programme that has been in New Zealand for almost 20 years. The primary objective of SADD is to reduce the harm caused on our roads by drink drivers. The peer education programme is run in secondary schools by students, independently of the school curriculum. The organisation is open to any student and SADD encourages participation from across the year levels. For more information about SADD visit www.sadd.org.nz.

Auckland City road safety is planning to work Auckland city secondary school SADD groups in 2008/2009 to raise awareness about the dangers and harm caused on our roads by drunk drivers. If you would like your school to be involved in this project or want more information contact us.

Updated December 2008