“Speed thrills and kills” - Hayley’s new SADD car bumper stickers

Mia sat down to chat with Hayley, one of our Yr 13 National Leaders, about her project. Hayley has been a National Leader since 2021 and established a SADD committee at Campion College in Gisborne. In this interview she shares her experiences as a National Leader, how the idea of her project came about and how she made it all happen.

Mia: “Hi Hayley, so great chatting to you. Tell us a little bit about yourself.”

Hayley: “Kia ora, I'm Hayley Lincoln an 18-year-old student from Campion College growing up on a farm on the outskirts of Tūranga-Nui-a-Kiwa which is always challenging me. I love horses, aviation and adventure. I am always looking for opportunities to develop my personal skills that can benefit me in the future. I joined SADD in 2021 becoming a National Leader. I found out about SADD's leadership program through my school and was recommended to apply. I wanted to be a National Leader for SADD as I was going to be working with an organisation outside of school, and in fact my region, to create solutions to the dangers on New Zealand roads. I am driven to reduce as much road trauma as possible because of the dangerous stretch of road I drive every day and from the accidents I have unfortunately seen.”

Mia: “What have you learned about yourself since being a National Leader?”

Hayley: “During my time as a National Leader I learned the difference between leadership and management, which has benefited me when leading my school's SADD team. I can reflect on my confidence, especially in my communication with my peers, stakeholders, mentors and teachers. I was able to clarify my visions such as my project, the Campion College SADD Team and my personal growth. I have learned that I can not do everything on my own and that some ideas are great but they are nothing without action. Some of the activities I wanted to run were unrealistic for many reasons that I was not considering, because I was too excited. I noticed that taking a step back can help you see all the factors, both good and bad, which allowed me to make better decisions.”

Mia: “That is great. Tell us about your project? How did you come up with the idea?”

Hayley: “I wanted to design and create SADD car bumper stickers with a message that would encourage people to think about if they are driving at the appropriate speeds on the road. The phrase I came up with is "SPEED THRILLS AND KILLS". I wanted to focus primarily on driving within the speed limit as the faster you go the less time you have to react in any given situation.  I came up with the idea in my business studies class at school when we were starting an internal assessment that needed to come up with a marketing plan for a product. I thought then and there that I could incorporate both my SADD work within my school studies, and create SADD stickers that could be used within our school SADD team and the SADD teams of the National Leaders. Being able to link my SADD project with my school curriculum to me was a fantastic idea so I got the best of both worlds. I worked on this SADD project during my Business Studies classes, through my marketing plan and business plan which I have decided to mash together. As well as on a Friday when our school has impact projects. My impact project at school was creating Campion College's SADD team and the road safety stickers.  Doing this allowed me to have even more time to work on this project. Especially as the year gets busier and busier.”

Mia: “What were the biggest challenges you faced when working on your project?”

Hayley: “The biggest challenges I faced when working on my project were first - coming up with a short and snappy phrase and design; second -  finding a way to make money (through fundraising or looking for grants) to manufacture the stickers themselves.  After I had come up with the design and then sent it to Ti (SADD staff member) to be digitised, she came back to me with many designs. I chose the one that was the best, to me it was awesome because it looked the most original to my design and incorporated the new brand of SADD/Kaitiaki O Ara.”

Mia: “Tell us about your great experience when it came to the printing of the stickers?”

Hayley: “I was doing all my market research to find the best place to print the stickers themselves.  I was going for an online platform and then was recommended to look local. I called Gisborne's Live Creative and asked for Matt Skuse (the sticker guy/owner) and told him about my project and what I was wanting to do. We kept in contact via email and he told me that he will print the stickers for me at no cost. I was very happy and excited, I picked them up not too long after.”

Mia: “Now the stickers are printed, what next? What would you like to achieve? What is the message behind it?”

Hayley: “Now that the stickers are printed, I gave some to my school and SADD team, and posted 100 units to Lydia at SADD, so she can distribute them between the National Leaders who have agreed to distribute them throughout their schools, SADD teams, and community. This was my vision, to have the stickers distributed on a national scale because road trauma is an issue all over New Zealand, not just in one community.  The message behind it is that speed may thrill but it also kills and that is a risk that people can not afford to take. People and the way they drive is not just a risk to themselves but to other road users, I really do believe that people need to be reminded of this.”

Mia: “Wow, that is such an amazing achievement. What is the biggest advice you would give to your peers when starting a project?”

Hayley: “Advice for my peers who will be starting their projects soon is to have a vision and an idea that you are passionate about from the start, so you are encouraged to stick with it until the end. When you achieve what you wanted to, probably with some challenges along the way, the feeling of completion is like no other but you mustn't do it for that reason alone. Do your project because of your vision and the difference you are carving into your community.”

Mia: “Thank you so much for sharing your insights with us Hayley. Have a great finish of the school year.”

A huge acknowledgement goes out to the printing company Live Creative Sign & Print from Gisborne for supporting such a great project.