This election year, AA’s calls could include, 'More focus on rehabilitation programmes for dangerous driving, such as treatment programmes, and road safety courses.'
It’s election year, as if we hadn’t noticed.
Not that there are any hoardings, election public meetings, mail drops, or red, blue, green and pink adverts yet, but the respective party positionings are underway. There’s a bit of an issue with the three-year election cycle.
The first year is spent dealing with previous party policies, the second doing something constructive, and the third preparing for re-election.
I guess we are lucky to have this as a democracy, when compared to some other countries right now. Our votes count, as to who holds the political reins.
Coincidentally, with each election cycle, the NZ Automobile Association (NZAA) through its 1.8 million members, develops a series of election calls.
These relate to the roading, road safety and driving matters, which the AA wants political aspirants and parties to know about and advocate for, subsequent to the election.
This year’s calls are at an early stage of finalising, but one call which, at this stage has a reasonably high priority, is “More focus on rehabilitation programmes for dangerous driving, such as treatment programmes, and road safety courses.”
This approach could be characterised as the psychological approach to changing driver behaviour, as opposed to the punitive fines and penalties approach.
There is no doubt that for the majority of drivers, getting a fine, demerit or driver licence suspension, is a sufficient deterrent to change the misdemeanour. The fact that our fine and penalty regime is 27 years old, hopelessly out of date, and wrought with inconsistencies, makes the regime less effective.
Nevertheless, the fact of getting a penalty does change the behaviour for most impacted drivers.
The psychological approach to changing the behaviour of high-risk, and alcohol and drug-affected drivers, encompasses a reasonable proportion of the work of Northland Road Safety Trust and its manager, Ashley Johnston.
Most of this work has the underpinning of protecting the ability to drive legally on New Zealand roads which means having control of the ability to work, enjoy family and friends, and make a contribution to the society in general.
Driving without a licence and the non-payment of fines with the associated penalties, is well established as being a pathway into the criminal justice system which is difficult to climb out of, without a circuit breaker.
That circuit breaker is often the rehabilitation course, with its attendant individual focus, care, and commitment which gets affected drivers back into productive legality.
Drive Soba has been running now for 20 years.
It targets high-risk recidivist drink drivers who have been convicted of three or more drink driving offences.
It’s an intensive 10-week evening programme, which last year graduated 26 participants.
The programme has strong endorsements and referrals from judges, police and probation officers. Evaluation is periodic, with the most recent having an 80% non-reoffending rate after 10 years.
Stop Alcohol Impaired Driving (SAID), which targets individuals with one or two drink driving offences, last year had 111 individuals complete.
This course has a significant self-referral from individuals wanting to change their attitude to drinking and driving. Participant feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The focus on early intervention is helping to reshape the drink-driving culture in Whangārei and Kaipara Districts.
Drug Impaired Driving (DID) is a new course targeting drugged drivers and has been developed in anticipation of police random roadside drug testing, which is in the process of being rolled out nationally.
The testing is of the illegal drugs, cannabis, LSD, methamphetamine and cocaine, whose presence in the tested saliva means a conviction and its penalties.
Already last year, 25 participants completed the course, helping them to confront their drug driving behaviour.
For all these impaired driving courses, it’s the driving while impaired behaviour that is targeted, confronted and changed as a result.
Drive Smarta targets high-risk drivers whose offences include dangerous driving, speeding, police evasion, failure to stop, or driving without a licence. Referrals to this course have doubled in the past two years, as offenders recognise and confront the risks they create and the reasons for their behaviour.
One involvement which the trust does not deliver directly, is its financial support for the Howard League Driver Licence Programme within the justice corrections system.
This programme targets those embedded in the justice system either in prison or on probation. Last year, 79 participants successfully obtained heavy motor vehicle (HMV), or forklift licences with 100% pass rate.
The programme does more than make participants fully legal drivers. It restores confidence, opens employment pathways and reduces reoffending for participants who they and society have often largely written off as unemployable.
All these rehabilitation programmes are delivered in Whangārei and Kaipara Districts, but the “Big Kahuna” in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation space, the Drug and Alcohol Court system, is only available in Auckland and Hamilton.
This intensive programme is highly innovative but internationally-proven, for those who are heading to jail or who have already been there, as a result of their drug or alcohol addiction.
It is expensive but cost effective, and is life changing for participants. This court has got to find a place in Northland’s alarmingly evolving drug use culture. The specialist court process changes already damaged lives, but is not just about driver behaviour
The AA election calls are coming later this year. Among them, you will find “A greater focus on rehabilitation programmes for dangerous, drug and alcohol impaired driving”. We already have the proving ground for those here in Northland.