Ashburton Courier: December 03, 2020

NEWS
20 Ashburton Courier, December 3, 2020
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
New drivers rewarded
The first graduates of the
district’s Community Driver
MentorProgramme have been
recognised andcongratulated
at aceremony in Ashburton.
The ceremony celebrated
the journey and success of the
trainee driversand alsotheir
volunteer driver mentors.
Some 18 driverspassed
their restricted licenceand
two obtained their full
licence, with athird settosit
it soon.
The driving programme
operates under the South
Island Regional DriverHUB
initiative and is fundedbythe
ProvincialGrowth Fund.Itis
supported byNZTAand New
Zealand Police andsponsored
by Proactive DriveTrust and
Stadium Cars.
Ashburton Community
DriverMentor Programmecoordinator
Heather Daly
welcomed guests at the
graduation ceremony and
Ashburtondeputy mayor Liz
McMillan andPeter Anderson
from Proactive DriveTrust
presented certificates to
traineesand mentors.
Drivers spoke aboutthe
impactthe programme hadon
buildingconfidence and
helpingthem obtain their
licence.
Some said having alicence
had helped them find
employment.
Ashburton Salvation Army
manager majorMike
Allwright was one of the
driver mentors and said he
had enjoyed helpingout.
The former truck driver,
Community Driver Mentor Programme graduate Tyrone King
receives his certificate from Ashburton deputy mayor Liz
McMillan.
PHOTO SUPPLIED
who has been drivingfor more
than 40 years, said it had been
nice to give back.
‘‘I’ve taught around20
people to drive over theyears
andit’s agood feeling to see a
nervouslearnerprogress into
acompetentdriver.
‘‘It is nerveracking and
stressful to sit atest, but if you
spend time withsomeone you
can help build or re­build
their drivingskills and
confidence.’’
Mr Allwright took his
trainee driver out for drives
over a10­week period.
The driver programme
familiarised driverswithsafe
driving habits, gavethem
driving practice and prepared
them forthe practical test.
For more informationabout
theCommunityDriverMentor
Programme contactHeather
Daly on 021 927 370oremail to
heather.daly@salvationarmy.
org.nz.
Rakaia brigade’s
skills praised
The Rakaia VolunteerFire
Brigade has beenrecognisedfor
its life­saving skills.
The brigade attendsnumerous
seriousaccidents on State
Highway 1between Dunsandel
and Dromore and the volunteer
unit wasgiven acommunity
serviceaward by theRoad
Traffic Accident Trauma
Charitable Trust.
Founder Sarah Dean said the
awards honoured outstanding
people who demonstrated aduty
of care, commitment and
courage.
Work at two crashes of
significance was recounted at
the awards.
On June 21at4.39am the
Rakaia brigadeattendeda
multiple­injury, near fatal crash
on the main road throughRakaia
where they were able to locate
alleight occupants of amotor
vehicle, somehad been ejected
in thecrash.
Brigade volunteers provided
medical attention for arangeof
injuries, two of which werelife
threatening, prior to ambulance
staff arriving at thescene.
Senior constable Aaron Tapp,
of the Canterburyseriouscrash
unit, nominated the brigadefor
the community serviceaward.
He said their work had abig
influenceonthe outcome for
each victim.
“It is no doubt their swift and
immediate actions of providing
firstaid at the road crashsite
saved their lives.’’
In 2016, the Rakaiabrigade
attended aseriouscrash where
the driver of acar suffered a
traumatic amputationofhis left
arm.
Rakaia chief Tyrone Burrowes
The brigadewas ableto
stabilise the male prior to the
arrivalofthe Canterbury West
CoastAir Rescue Trust.Onthis
occasion medical personnelon
the helicoptercommented that
their actions saved his life.
In2016 the brigade voluntarily
soughtsponsorshipand
fundraised to obtain apurposebuilt
first response vehicle
which has enhancedtheir
capability to attendoff road
trauma incidents without
committing their front line
rescuetender. They can attend
vehicle crashes andmedicalcall
outs simultaneously if required.
“While we certainly do not
volunteer for the accolades,we
are flattered to receive this
award,’’ saidbrigade chief
Tyrone Burrowes. ‘‘We are
passionate aboutRakaia andare
always here to answer the call
wheneverour pagers go off. Iam
immensely proud of ourcrewand
the work that they do, and Iknow
our localcommunity are as well.’’
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Summer plea to
drive sober, safe
We are all in this together.
This is the 29th year ACADS
has undertaken their community
action on alcohol summer
campaign to raise awareness of
safety issues around drink
driving. We work with partner
services to re­inforce messaging
from previous projects to reduce
alcohol related crashes and
injury in the Ashburton district.
Statistics provided by Martin
Lo, Ashburton District Council
road safety co­ordinator, clearly
identified the audience to be
targeting this year: Younger men
and women in the 20­30 year age
bracket are featuring in vehicle
crashes involving alcohol.
The seasonal nature of work
pressures in rural communities
shows up with November and
February featuring with the
combination of alcohol and
fatigue from the long hours
people work and socialise
adding to the risk on our roads.
For the last five years alcohol
has played apart in 39 per cent
of all death and serious injury
crashes in the Ashburton
district.
Ashburton District Council,
Police, licensed premises, St
John and community services
partner with ACADS to
contribute to the campaign in a
variety of ways and part of this
process is to remind people to
make informed choices.
First to take notice of how
much alcohol they are drinking
and the effect it has on
themselves and others, and
second to plan ahead to get home
safely.
Community organisations,
schools and workplaces can help
by developing alcohol policy and
providing water and other
options to alcohol at events.
Why? Alcohol is adepressant
that affects concentration and
co­ordination, slowing reaction
times and affecting responses to
situations, adding to the danger
of undertaking activities such as
driving, working or sport.
We all have apart to play to
keeping ourselves and our
families safe on our roads this
summer.
Drive sober. Drive safe!