Clear Road Ahead as Community Programme Helps Young Drivers

Clear Road Ahead as Community Programme Helps Young Drivers Get Behind the Wheel Safely

Drivers under the age of twenty-five are over represented in fatal and serious crashes, undertaking risky behaviours and license disqualification.

ACC statistics reveal that 74 per cent of young drivers are at fault when involved in a crash causing injury, while 81 per cent are at fault when involved in fatal crashes. Over a third (37%) of disqualified drivers are under 25, while over half of all young drivers involved in a fatal or serious crash have a history of license breaches according to New Zealand Police data.

A ground-breaking community programme, “Behind the Wheel”, has started in the South Auckland suburb of Māngere to combat the impact of, unlicensed or in-breach-of-license-conditions, young drivers on crash statistics.

Behind the Wheel is a joint project between ACC and New Zealand Transport Agency with co-funding from Auckland Transport.

ACC’s Head of Injury Prevention, Emma Powell, says partnering with communities is essential to the success of this programme to resolve this alarming situation involving our young people.

“Crashes not only have an impact on an individual, they affect the wider community. Behind the Wheel is a community response to create real and lasting change.”

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. Creating good driving habits early by being a licensed driver is critical to ensuring the future safety of our communities.”

“Behind the Wheel”, designed by a group that included prominent community leaders and young people in Mangere, is aimed at young people and their families without a license. It also addresses issues that deter young people from obtaining a driver’s license such as the cost of a test, information and communication barriers, and lack of encouragement and support for drivers through their licensing journey.

A cornerstone of the initiative is the Behind the Wheel Pledge that offers teams of three – a coach, a rookie and a wingman – to rally around a learner driver to help them become a safe and fully licensed driver, and provide support when on Learner and Restricted licenses.

Māngere mother of four, Marae leader and member of the programme design group, Val Teraitua, herself an unlicensed driver for ten years until the prospect of putting her four children at risk outweighed the perceived hassle and cost restrictions.

“Parents like me need to make the first move to break the cycle of unlicensed driving and that’s exactly why I am committing to the Pledge to help get my youngest boy get his full license so he can be safer on our roads,” said Mrs Teraitua.

“Too many of our young people are putting their life on the line when they drive, not to mention the lives of their passengers and other drivers. It’s got to stop and this programme will help us get the training and experience needed.”

ENDS

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