Celebrating SADD and NZ Police partnership
NZ Police and Students Against Dangerous Driving (SADD) share common priorities and goals to keep our communities safe. Our focus is on prevention through partnerships to keep our roads safe – preventing deaths and injuries, and building a road safety culture.
SADD and NZ Police have been successfully working together for many years, the signing of the Letter of Agreement (LoA) has strengthened that partnership. This LoA clarifies the partnership and provides increased opportunities to strengthen relationships between Police and young Kiwis to achieve better outcomes for young road users.
The purpose of the LoA:
Describes the collaboration between NZ Police and SADD
SADD attending Police road safety events in the community
Police attending road safety activities at schools
Both contributing to and sharing road safety messages
Assistant Commissioner Sandra Venables and National Manager Donna Govorko signing the LoA at Police National Headquarters
SADD National Manager Donna Govorko says the LoA is a strengthening of the partnership between SADD and NZ Police.
“It helps clarify how we can work together towards achieving shared road safety and youth empowerment goals”.
Assistant Commissioner Sandra Venables says SADD and Police share a passion to keep people safe on our roads.
“Our police staff focus on driver and rider behaviour to ensure that all road users stay safe. Our partners at SADD also share that focus through influencing their peers and communities through engagement.
“Working together to amplify our voices and road safety messages can only be a good thing for the safety of people in our communities.’
NZ Police Commissioner, Andrew Coster, catching up for a cuppa with the SADD team
SADD exists to empower young Kiwis to prevent road trauma. SADD is a student led, peer to peer programme that gives youth a voice to effect and inspire safe road user behaviours. SADD supports and provides a platform for youth to amplify safe road user messages to their communities, becoming youth agents for change: Empowering young Kiwis to prevent loss on our roads. Together.
SADD Goals:
Empower young kiwis to lead and inspire positive road user behaviours by creating leaders, innovators and change-makers in their school and communities
Promote positive activities for all road users that contribute to a Safe System
Contribute to injury prevention initiatives
Students are active participants and citizens, creating a strong and civil society
Enhance wellbeing by preventing harm caused by road trauma
Young drivers are more vulnerable to crash risk because they are still developing, both physically and mentally. It takes time and practice to develop safe driving skills. Dangers on the road are often underestimated and it is therefore important that these drivers are supported with education and awareness training.
SADD aims to plant the seeds of awareness, good decision making, and consideration of self and others’ futures. Our approach is to invest in youth participation, creating community networks with problem solving at its heart, demonstrating causal effects – and what individuals can do to safeguard a future.
SADD National Leaders at the 2020 July Leadership workshop, Auckland Harbour Bridge Police Station