Students take drink drive message on air

In a bid to prevent alcohol related crashes Timeless Taupo, with the support of Taupō Safe District, has teamed up with Taupo Taxis, Grantley’s Liquor Merchants and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) to promote responsible drinking.

“I’ve done the research - It takes 8460 bolts to assemble an automobile but only takes one nut to scatter them across the road! I’m Celia from Tauhara College, if you’re planning to drink later, catch a cab.”

Several messages like these are currently being voiced by high school aged students involved with SADD and are designed to target all drivers within a drinking environment. Tens of thousands of dollars of air-time has been made available by Timeless Taupo 106.4FM and Turangi’s 89.6 Mountain FM.

Timeless Taupo 106.4FM General Manager, Gillian Cook, says it’s a pleasure being involved with young people, most especially S.A.D.D students, who are so passionate about bringing about positive change. “Drink drive messages on their own can be bland and boring but with young people at the helm they bring innovation and emotional buy-in that is harder to ignore.”

She says Timeless Taupo’s gift to students is to provide the conduit for their messages across the central plateau. “A young person’s voice is distinguishable, and these messages are different.”

Taupō District Council’s Community Projects Officer, Craig Ormsby, says the messages are still for everyone. “Safety is an issue at home, in the workplace and on the roads. During times of celebrations when alcohol consumption is increased people need to take responsibility to protect themselves and others.”

Mr Ormsby says having the support of Taupo Taxis is great. “We want people to think about the consequences their actions may have when getting behind the wheel after a few drinks. And why? When services like this can ensure their night can start and finish safely and responsibly.”

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the SADD group and has only been made possible through the generosity of Timeless Taupo who really gets behind community focused safety initiatives,” says Mr Ormsby.

Grantley’s Liquor Merchants support the SADD group in keeping with their philosophy to promote safe educated drinking.

Taupō Safe District is an initiative started last year by Taupō District Council and community partners including the Police and ACC, to achieve the World Health Organisation accredited status of a Safe District. Taupō Safe District now aims to maintain this world status by introducing safety initiatives and practices throughout the district.