Current programmes and initiatives being supported through the Northland Road Safety Trust (NRST) are listed below:
Drive SOBA
The Drive SOBA Programme (DSP) is an evidenced-based drink driving programme designed to reduce recidivist drink driving. It is targeted at those people with three or more drink driving charges. DSP is delivered in 13 sessions, 12 in a group setting for two hours once a week, and one individual session. The aim is to reduce re-offending by those who complete the programme. The Drive SOBA programme is evidenced-based on the principles of ‘what works’ to reduce recidivism, focusing on ‘criminogenic risk’, ‘criminogenic need’, ‘responsivity’, ‘treatment integrity’ and ‘relapse prevention’, all of which have an impact on reducing re-offending. The Drive SOBA programme operates with the understanding that all principles need to be included for an intervention to be effective in reducing re-offending. Drive SOBA is delivered by the Northland District Health Board.
SAID – Stop Alcohol Impaired Driving
The focus of the SAID programme is on reducing drink-driving by providing education around alcohol, alcohol impairment, and drink-driving. The course is for those with first or second EBA offences. It is delivered as two three hour sessions from 5-8pm. Self referrals are accepted and we have a direct referral system with Corrections, Justice, Police, NDHB and NGO’s. If you would like to self refer please contact Bronwen on [email protected] or 021 942 262. The programme focuses on changing behaviour and justifications around drink-driving as well as providing attendees with problem solving skills, awareness of the consequences, and planning prior to drinking. We are happy to provide an outcome to your referral agency.
RYDA – Rotary Young Driver Awareness
The over-arching theme of the RYDA workshop is ‘My Life – My Choices’. The programme aims to reduce road trauma through attitude and behavioural change, and at the same time, contribute to the totality of community and government road safety messages. The workshop achieves this through discussion, group work, experiential learning, and personalisation strategies. Students are empowered by participation in the day and through follow-up activities back in the school classroom and social media engagement. The RYDA workshop is designed as six integrated sessions, tied together by the opening and closing address. This year already RYDA has run this workshop in Dargaville High School, Ruawai College, Otamatea High School and Westmount College, Whangarei Girls High, with more courses booked throughout the 2022 year.
DID – Drug Impaired Driving
A course specifically focused on drug driving that addresses the justifications that contribute to continued drug driving behaviour. DID focuses on facts and the effects of common drugs and the impact on driving. It incorporates evidenced based interventions such as motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy, and relapse prevention. The evidence around what works with the offender population that has been applied to the drink driving course with a 89% non-reoffending rate is applied. You can self refer by contacting [email protected] or 021 942 262.
SADD – Students Against Dangerous Driving
NRST provides funding and support for SADD to reach high schools across Whangarei and Kaipara. A current project between NRST and SADD is a short film competition run in all high schools across Whangarei and Kaipara Districts. The competition prize pool is funded by NRST to encourage students to take up the ‘Drive in the Moment’ tool-kit which educates around the dangers of distracted driving, and managing the temptation around cell-phone use while driving.
Child restraints
This is a Plunket based programme in Whangarei and Kaipara Districts which provides child restraint checks and installation of car seats in vehicles by a qualified technician from Plunket. Upon referral of families in need of support to Plunket, car seats are also provided.
Drive SMARTA
Drive Smarta is designed to create behavioural change in drivers demonstrating high speed and other socially deviant driving behaviours. The aim of the Drive Smarta course is to reduce the incidence of speeding and dangerous driving by providing a specific programme for targeted offenders. The course focuses on increasing knowledge related to the risk of speeding and factual evidence of road safety measures. The Drive Smarta course implements evidenced-based practice of ‘what works’ with recidivist offenders. Drive SMARTA is delivered by Bronwen Wood a Registered Psychologist and founder of this programme. You can self refer by contacting [email protected] or 021 942 262.
Young Driver Licensing Programs
NRST currently has six community-based driver licensing programmes in Whanagrei and Kaipara Districts. These are located at the Te Whai Community Trust in Mangawhai, Maungaturoto volunteer group, Bream Bay Community Trust, People Potential Whangarei, Northtec Dargaville (run through People Potential) and Ngatiwai at the Semenoff Stadium. These programmes offer learner-licensing courses and provide mentored driving support to anyone in the community who wants or needs that support. NRST provides the funding to run these programmes and the mentor vehicles used for this service, or a grant towards the purchase of a mentoring vehicle, as well as supporting volunteers, trainers and mentors involved in the programme.
In-curriculum driver licensing
We currently have two schools in Whangarei and Kaipara that hold in-curriculum driver licensing for the learner license and mentor driving for those wanting to obtain a restricted license. This is a two year pilot that the Northland Road Safety Trust is hoping to expand throughout high schools in our region.
Kaipara Alcohol ACCORD group
The Kaipara Alcohol Accord group is based on a local agreement between key stakeholders/partners including NRST, to promote community safety through safer alcohol consumption. It complements the existing Sale of Liquor Act 1989 (SoLA) regulatory mechanisms. NRST supports this group through promotional activities in the community. In 2021 this included designing the posters for the group and providing funds to have the posters displayed at licensed premises across Kaipara District.
Fatigue Stops at Uretiti
NRST funds the fatigue stops set up at Uretiti on public holidays. These fatigue stops are designed to revive drivers travelling long distances, and provides them and their passengers with coffee, and a range of hot and cold food, paired with road safety messages. In summer of 2021 we had support and assistance from Fulton Hogan to help safely run this operation and 391 vehicles stopped and were engaged.
Licence Controller Qualification Course for Clubs
NRST offers a licence controller qualification course for clubs members who volunteer their time behind the bar across Whangarei and Kaipara, this is run by People Potential twice a year with a limit of 20 per course.
Road Safety messaging on all weather tags on More FM
NRST provides the road safety messages on all weather tags on More FM radio. These are broadcast seven days a week throughout the day with messaging from the pillars of Road To Zero.
Northland Restraint Programme
The Northland road safety partners have had the opportunity this year (2022) to work with Waka Kotahi NZTA to develop a restraints programme specifically for Northland targeting our over represented group in road fatalities and serious injuries, young Māori men. Focus groups have been completed with over 50 participants, each group had 4 – 6 participants, all from our at risk group. An open and honest discussion was held that covered a lot of topics from first experiences of being in a car, learning to drive, what safe or unsafe driving looked like, personal influences and their thoughts on current and previous ad campaigns. The groups provided in depth personal experiences and thoughts which have been captured and currently in the process of being reported on. What became evident fairly quickly that there were three distinct groups that needed attention. The first is our tamariki aged between 9 and 11 who are requiring a more holistic education around road safety, the next group was the young drivers and how we can better support them through the licencing journey and lastly, the more difficult group to reach, the adults who have been driving now for years with ingrained behaviours. The solutions to these issues are not easy ones and Waka Kotahi NZTA are working through what some of those solutions could look like for Northland.
Road Safety Week
The Northland Road Safety Trust and Northland road safety partners worked collaboratively to put together some activities for Road Safety Week which was the 09th to 15th of May 2022 with the theme ‘Road Safety Heroes’. Radio campaigns ran all week where the public were asked to provide stories and nominations of who their road safety hero was, we nominated a community road safety hero to be highlighted in the Northland Advocate each day, school patrollers were encouraged to dress as heroes and spread road safety messages to their classmates and some school classes wrote stories about their heroes which they sent in. A hero walk was also held on Thursday the 12th of May where we asked our organisations who are road safety champions and heroes to participate to demonstrate it takes everyone to get to no one, and everyone was encouraged to discuss the road to zero strategy with the pubic.
