This week 20 students graduated a local, five week course in Culverden breaking down barriers to help them pass their learner’s licence theory test.

The course was a local edition of the Learner Driver Mentor Programme (LDMP), established by New Zealand Police and designed to help people challenged by the learners’ test.

However this local round of the programme was a bit different to the usual, in that it was run by Fire and Emergency New Zealand, rather than the police. It was also the first time we have hosted the course locally, rather than promoting courses in Rangiora.

The Amuri Fire Brigade kindly hosted the local course, at which five volunteer mentors were divided among groups of students who learned the road code theory and completed practice tests. All the students passed the course and feedback has been very positive.

Kelly Larsen, Road Risk Reduction Strategist at Fire and Emergency New Zealand, initiated and then organised a lot of the Culverden course. When talking about the course she said that working with communities to prevent emergencies from occurring is the single most effective thing Fire and Emergency NZ can do to keep New Zealanders safe. “The partnership between the Hurunui District Council, Fire and Emergency NZ and the wider Culverden community demonstrates the positive impact we can have when we work together to address an identified risk” she said.

Anthony Alarca, President of the local Filipino community group and a Course Mentor on the Amuri LDMP, expressed how valuable the course was to some of our Filipino residents. “This course was helpful for a lot of our Filipino people” he said. “Most of them do not drive back in the Philippines, so are not confident driving on NZ roads. Also, it is very easy to get a licence in the Philippines and much stricter here so we have really appreciated learning from the course”.

Kathryn Langford, a local dairy farmer and Course Mentor, explained why she happily volunteered her time to the course. “I volunteered to be a mentor on this course so that my staff could gain their independence on their days off, especially the women” she said. “I really enjoyed the integration between cultures – bringing everyone together to learn and share experiences”.

This Amuri edition of the Learner Driver Mentor Programme was sponsored by the Hurunui District Council Road Safety Committee. Anyone interested in running a similar course in their local community can contact our Road Safety Coordinator, Krystal Jennings.

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