SADD at Fieldays - Steering Road Safety
When you hear “National Fieldays in Hamilton,” your mind probably goes straight to gumboots, tractor demos, and endless farming gear. However, the event also shines a spotlight on a critical issue that impacts every New Zealander: Road Safety!
Students from Tuakau College’s SADD group worked alongside the powerhouse lineup of road safety legends—NZTA Waka Kotahi, NZ Police, ACC, Ministry of Transport Te Manatū Waka , Waikato Regional Council, and Roadsafe Taranaki.
This joint stand was a fantastic opportunity for road safety partners to present a unified voice on road safety and engage with people in a road safety conversation, explain safety interventions, answer any specific questions and highlight the role each of the organisations play in keeping people safe on our roads. The SADD students did a great job encouraging visitors to check out the stand and engaged in conversations around driving licensing and the Drive programme.
The stand had different road safety focus areas:
Safe vehicles: On display was a 1-star rated vehicle that had been crash-tested against a 5-star vehicle to highlight structural safety differences and encouraged visitors to utilize Rightcar.govt.nz to check their own vehicle safety rating. Visitors got to use a tyre tread checker on the tyre display and learn how to use them to check their own tyres at home.
Restraints: Utilised a low-speed seatbelt sled (12 km/h) to demonstrate the severe force generated even in low-speed collisions.
Impairment: Conducted motor-skill tests using impairment goggles to illustrate the physical effects of driving under the influence.
Waikato Roading & Infrastructure: A series of major transport projects designed to enhance New Zealand’s infrastructure.
Driver Licensing: Toy cars were used as an engagement tool to open conversations around applying road rules in different situations and conversations around driver licensing and the Drive programme tool.
At the end of the day, road safety isn't just about avoiding a ticket—it's about making sure everyone gets home to their family at night. Huge shoutout to the Tuakau College SADD students and all the participating organisations for bringing high energy and vital road safety conversations to Fieldays!