New Resource Helps Rangatahi and Whanau Plan for Safe Summer Travel

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Title: New Resource Helps Rangatahi and Whanau Plan for Safe Summer Travel

The Wairarapa Road Safety Council has released a new resource to help rangatahi and their whanau have calm, practical conversations about avoiding impaired driving and making safer decisions on the road this summer.

Wairarapa Road Safety Council Projects Coordinator Holly Hullena says the most common risks facing young people aren’t usually about driving skills, but the decisions they make under pressure.

“Young people are often great at the technical skills of driving — but their decision-making brain is still developing. That makes them more vulnerable to pressure, distraction and split-second choices. The biggest mistakes we see aren’t usually about driving ability, they’re about planning and judgement.”

One of the most dangerous patterns seen across Wairarapa is young people getting into cars with drivers who’ve been drinking or using drugs — often because they don’t want to “make a fuss” or they have no safe alternative.

“Most serious incidents start with that one decision,” Hullena says.

She notes that breaching licence conditions is another major issue.
Driving at night on a restricted licence, carrying passengers, or driving too soon after gaining a new licence significantlyincreases crash risk.

“Those rules exist because the data is clear: new drivers are much less safe when they’re tired, unsupervised or carrying friends.”

A resource designed to make safety easy

The new resource encourages whanau to talk early, plan together and practise simple safety strategies before summer events.

“This resource is designed to make safety easy and to help families have calm, practical conversations. It’s not about scaring young people — it’s about giving them real strategies they can use in the moment.”

It includes ten practical tips students can share with their whanau, including making a shared rule not to get into a car with an impaired driver, agreeing on a no-questions-asked pick-up plan, carrying an emergency fund, creating exit scripts, and setting up rural transport alternatives.

Schools are encouraged to use the materials in newsletters, assemblies and wellbeing sessions, while wh?nau are encouraged to sit down together and make a personalised safety plan.

“If every student goes into summer with a no-questions-asked pick-up person, an emergency transport plan and a few phrases they can use to say no to a dangerous ride, we’ll prevent harm. Planning is the most powerful safety tool we have.”

A clear message to rangatahi this summer

Hullena’s advice to young people is simple:

“Make the safe choice the easy choice — have your plan sorted before you go out.”

She says if a driver has been drinking or using drugs, the decision must be immediate and firm:

“Don’t get in the car. You’re not being dramatic — you’re protecting your life and the lives of the people who care about you.”

Whanau, she says, will always prefer a late-night call over a tragedy.

“Your wh?nau would rather pick you up at 2am than get a phone call saying something’s gone wrong. There are no lectures, no judgement — just get home safe.”

Pull quotes available for media use

• “Most risky decisions happen before the car even moves — planning is everything.”

• “A simple family plan can be the difference between getting home safely and facing lifelong consequences.”

• “We want rangatahi to have fun this summer — we just want them to get home alive.”

The full resource is now available for download below: