Driving offenders put on right track

The first uptake of people attending the Right Track – Te Ara Tutuki Pai programme in Southland have begun the course.

The pilot programme aims to rehabilitate people with driving offences, and has achieved an 80 per cent or greater nonrecidivism success rate for participants in other cities since its inception in 2007.

The eight-week course is free to participants, and is funded through the ILT Foundation and Community Trust South.

Judge Mark Callaghan said the course, which was aimed at 18 to 30-year-olds, was about rehabilitating people rather than just punishing them. There are 17 participants in the first uptake, who each have a support person.

Callaghan hoped the effect on the community, including on emergency services, would be lessened as a result.

In 2016, Southland had 16 fatal crashes. In 2017, there were 13.

Callaghan hoped the course would ‘‘open their eyes’’ to the reality of driving dangers.

‘‘Rehabilitation must always be better than penalising offenders.’’

Between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, there were 1090 fatal and serious crashes in the Southern District. Impaired drivers, including alcoholaffected, drug-affected and fatigued drivers, were a factor in 272 of those, with 68 crashes in 2016 alone.

Dangerous or reckless behaviour featured in 158.

Between January 1, 2017, and November 27, 2017, there were 63 people in the Southland area charged with driving with excess breath alcohol for the third or subsequent time, and there were 67 people charged with breaching their licence for the third or subsequent time, including driving whilst their licence was disqualified or suspended.

The idea of the programme is to give participants a wake-up call to the consequences.

Right Track chairwoman Rebecca Coats said the course mirrored real-life scenarios, starting with a mock court hearing, then talking to police, firefighters, doctors, St John Ambulance staff and funeral directors.

‘‘Over the course of time it changes their attitudes.

‘‘I believe that this programme in the Southland community will have a big impact, not only on those participants who complete it, but their support people and the wider community.’’

Each course costs about $30,000.