Community Road Safety Fund

The Community Road Safety Fund works with other organisations to support community-based road safety initiatives.

Investment decisions are made by an advisory group, made up of representatives from Waka Kotahi, ACC, NZ Police, the Safe and Sustainable Transport Association, and the AA.

Funding for the Community Road Safety Fund comes from the sale of personalised plates.

Recent projects funded

Students Against Dangerous Driving (SADD)

Waka Kotahi has partnered with the AA as the principal funders of SADD.

SADDs vision is 'Empowering young kiwis to prevent loss on our roads. Together'. SADD is a student- led initiative throughout secondary schools nationwide that uses a proven peer to peer approach to give youth a voice to influence each new generation to make healthier and safer road user choices, creating a road safety culture.

Since starting at Mahurangi College in Warkworth in 1985, SADD now reaches thousands of students across secondary schools throughout New Zealand.

Visit the SADD website for more information(external link)

Five school students holding SADD resources and jumping in the air.

Community Driver Mentor Programme model

Waka Kotahi and the AA developed the Community Driver Mentor and Learner Programme (CDMP) to address some of the barriers young people face when trying to get their restricted drivers licence, such as access to a safe car and petrol, or an appropriate mentor to give them the driving practice they need.

A number of communities have successfully established this programme model to support young learner drivers.

Download the Community Driver Mentor Programme guide for more information

The NZ Howard League for Penal Reform

The Howard League was formed in New Zealand in 1923 and works towards reducing New Zealand’s very high rate of incarceration. The major programme involves deploying volunteers into jails to teach literacy and other skills to prisoners and since 2014, the Howard League has developed driver training programmes for offenders who have served sentences or are on a path towards a jail sentence.

The Community Road Safety Fund currently supports the driver training and licensing programmes in South Auckland, West Auckland, Porirua and Christchurch.

The Salvation Army - Christchurch

The Christchurch Community Driver Mentor Programme, run by The Salvation Army, has been in existence for several years. It has been supported in its current form by the Community Road Safety Fund since it commenced.

The programme aims to help inexperienced drivers who face barriers in moving through the Graduated Driver Licence System, including learning difficulties, access to a safe car, or an appropriate mentor to give them the driving practice they need.

Two women standing in front of a Salvation Army branded car.

Medication-impaired driving and pharmacists professional development

In 2018 Waka Kotahi developed a professional development module for pharmacists in relation to the subject of medication impairment.

Pharmacists have a pivotal role in increasing awareness of the impairing effects of medication on driving. Medication impairment is a significant problem, as every year two out of three drivers consume medication that can cause impairment, and one in every four prescriptions are for medications that can cause impairment.

Since the course started over 400 people have completed it, and over 85 percent of participants said the course met their learning needs.

Professional development materials for GPs and pharmacists

Professional development module for pharmacists(external link)

Major Trauma Registry

Over 50 percent of major trauma injuries in New Zealand arise from road crashes. The Community Road Safety Fund has partnered with ACC and the National Trauma Network to facilitate a new national registry to record information arising from major trauma events. This National Trauma Registry records data from all major trauma cases entering the New Zealand hospital system and will be used to provide robust information to plan and support actions to reduce the amount and the impact of trauma, including road trauma.

Contact us

For more information on the Community Road Safety Fund, email crsf@nzta.govt.nz