‘Safety is the reason, all summer season’. That’s the message of this year’s campaign run by SADD.
Kaitiaki o Ara SADD is the student-led charity backed by the AA for its ever-important mission to empower young people to make safer and better choices on the road.
The annual campaign runs from this December to January 2025 – a period known to be treacherous on our roads – and comprises a series of social media posts reinforcing the message of summer road safety.
SADD Operations Manager Victoria Domigan says young people tend to travel more in summer, with longer days, warmer temperatures and plenty of fun things to do.
“They’re going to be heading to festivals, or to the beach with friends,” she says. “They’re out of school, out of their usual routines. It’s a really important time to promote safe road user choices.”
Regular posts will be uploaded to SADD’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels, as well as its website. Content is welcomed from anyone – SADD student leaders, community members, businesses, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand – with personal road safety tips and tricks. Messages to share may include the importance of checking tyres, securing your load of camping gear correctly, managing fatigue, distraction and peer pressure behind the wheel, and the dangers of drink driving.
SADD’s Summer Campaign coincides with another pertinent initiative led collectively by New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Transport Agency, Auckland Transport and district and city councils across the country.
New Zealand Police Senior Advisor Partnerships and Engagement Dan Ralph says the ‘Better Together – Drive Drink Free’ campaign will cover much of the motu. It enforces road safety through Police presence and awareness of the main causes of death and injury on roads: speed, impairment, distraction and not wearing seatbelts.
“Expect to see Police on our roads in an effort to deter any dangerous behaviour that impacts the safety of yourself, your passengers and others,” Dan says. “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. We can all play a part to ensure that no one is harmed on our roads.”
SADD General Manager Donna Govorko says the charity supports Drive Drink Free and will share key messages to ensure it gets maximum reach.
Next year marks 40 years of SADD, which stands for Students Against Dangerous Driving. Donna says it’s an immense achievement and commends the efforts of young people who speak out about road safety.
“We’re really proud of our students, who initiate vital and sometimes difficult conversations about preventing loss on our roads. Young people speaking to young people helps influence attitudes and behaviours among peer groups and creates a healthy road safety culture,” Donna says.
“It’s important we keep these conversations going, continue to work collaboratively, and build relationships with road safety partners and community groups to achieve our collective goals of reducing harm on our roads.”
Over four decades, the SADD team has provided young people with guidance and support using evidence-based road safety education, like ‘Safer September’. During that month-long campaign, young people across Aotearoa run competitions, events and activities to foster critical conversations, stand up to peer pressure and take responsibility for creating safer roads for themselves and their communities.
Get involved
Keen to share a road safety message as part of the Summer Campaign? Post your summer road safety message on social media, tagging @SADDNZ and #safetyisthereason
See sadd.org.nz/summer-campaign for more.
Story by Monica Tischler for the Summer 2024 issue of AA Directions Magazine. Monica Tischler is the Deputy Editor of AA Directions magazine.
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