One year on, Toyota New Zealand continues its support of Road Safety Education Limited’s RYDA programme (Road Youth Driver Awareness). Its aim is to accelerate national progress in reducing road deaths by providing world-class safety education to Kiwi youth.
RYDA provides a ‘whole of school’ approach through an engaging and memorable one-day workshop. It is led by trained facilitators, including police, driving instructors, and community specialists. Back-up support is provided by online learning and classroom resources to high school students throughout the nation.
TNZ Assistant Vice President, Susanne Hardy, says Toyota NZ helps drive safer communities by ensuring young people have the knowledge and skills to make safer choices on the road.
The three-year partnership sees Toyota NZ sponsorship of $225,000 to support RYDA’s school education programmes, as well as providing four Toyota Corolla Cross hybrids for use by the RYDA team throughout New Zealand.
“Young drivers aged between 16 and 24 are at far greater risk of being involved in fatal or serious injury crashes. Devastatingly, over the past 10 years, around 7000 young people aged 16-24 have been killed or seriously injured on our roads. The social cost of road crashes is huge, amounting to $11.6 billion annually for New Zealand, but this pales in comparison to the immense human cost – lost loved ones, friends, parents, and children,” said Ms Hardy.
“At Toyota, we recognise that community support and road safety are critical issues for building safer communities and we support RYDA in guiding students to become active, responsible road citizens,” she added.
“We are thrilled to announce that 170 schools across New Zealand, 41 per cent, have participated in RYDA workshops over the past year, and we expect 15,000 students to go through the programme in the coming 12 months. That’s a 34 per cent increase from last year.”
Road Safety Education Limited New Zealand General Manager, Maria Lovelock, said that it has been wonderful to have the additional support from Toyota during the past year. It has proven essential to support the growth of the programme around the country.
“Together, Toyota NZ and Road Safety Education Limited are contributing to a reduction in deaths and serious injuries on our roads, especially focused on youth,” said Ms Lovelock.
“Despite making up less than 12 per cent of NZ’s licence holders, drivers 16-25 years were found to be primarily responsible for one-third of crashes resulting in deaths or serious injury. However, it doesn’t need to be this way and many youngsters are keen to make good decisions and set themselves up for success on the roads.”
“We are excited that this year through Toyota’s support, we have launched a parent programme called Drive Coach which adds a further layer of support for these vulnerable young people. It will help the whole family get on the same page and be safer road users.” she added.
Drive Coach is an extension of RYDA, designed to inform parents with young drivers on best practices for coaching a driver.
The first Drive Coach programme will be held in Hamilton on May 28th with the support of Ebbett Toyota. This is a free event with more details here.
Take action this Road Safety Week (20-26 May) by spreading awareness and practicing safe driving habits.
The Road Safety Education Limited New Zealand RYDA programme is approved by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
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