Haere Mai | Welcome to Road Safety
A bit about what we do:
The Road Safety Team deliver projects, learning support, social marketing, events, courses, driving school, and overall coordination of road safety education in the Far North District. The team hold a range of skills around driver instruction, licensing, project planning, marketing, youth engagement and networking.
Road Safety Education is grouped around eight main themes:
Reducing Alcohol & Drug Impaired Driving
Young Drivers
Safer Speeds
Restraint usage
Fatigue Awareness
Distraction
High risk drivers
Pedestrians
Licence Course Dates 2024
Learners Licence Course
This is a three day course with testing held on the third day. The first two days your tutor will take you through the road code and help you prepare for the Learners Licence test. To register for this course you must be 16 years or older and pay the test fee and complete your DL1 application form at the
Far North REAP AA Driver & Vehicle Licence counter.
The test costs $93.90.
Please note: there are strict rules around I.D. requirements that we must adhere to.
Click here for information about I.D. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Identification Requirements
Restricted | Full Licence Course
Next course date to be confirmed
Cost of course: FREE
Please note: this does not include the cost of the ‘actual’ test
This is a free two hour course where you will revisit the road rules. Your tutor will take you for an assessment drive and give you feedback on your driving ability. You will need to bring your Learners Licence card to register for this course.
No more courses for this year.
Please check in February 2025.
Papatūānuku shows the way to road safety
Far North Districts Road Safety Team
Read more in the media release articles below
Jodi Betts,
Far North REAP
Road Safety Manager
Petricevich bus backs ‘skin’
The One Tear Too Many brand was officially launched with a billboard reveal in a paddock off SH12 near Rawene, 2015
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Papatūānuku Shows The Way To Road Safety
Anyone living in Te Hiku o Te Ika/the Far North of Aotearoa New Zealand, will recognise the iconic billboards featuring a wāhine Māori crying next to the saying, “One Tear Too Many”.
The image represents Papatūānuku, with her message for all road users to drive safely and stay alive on the district’s local roads and state highways. The road safety kaupapa was developed by the Far North REAP Road Safety Team in 2014, who recognised the road safety messaging was not resonating with the Te Hiku community. Over the next few weeks, a series of articles will explore the whakapapa of the One Tear Too Many road safety kaupapa, to explore where it all began, the kōrero from the artists behind the artwork and a new direction for the kaupapa. In this first article, Far North REAP Road Safety manager Jodi Betts talks about the origins of the kaupapa and how the image of Papatūanukū has grown to become a source of community pride for the people of Te Hiku. The Far North district has long held some of the country’s worst statistics for serious injury and deaths on our roads. Crash statistics from 2009 to 2013 released by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) showed 12 deaths and 68 serious injuries resulting from unsafe speeds in the Far North District and 18 deaths and 85 serious injuries resulting from alcohol and drugs. Those statistics have continued along a similar trajectory over the years, with 2022 recording 14 deaths across the district and already 11 fatalities for 2023. Far North REAP Road Safety manager Jodi Betts said it was these numbers that drove her team’s road safety messaging and the reason for coming up with the One Tear Too Many kaupapa nearly 10 years ago. “This is not just an image of a wāhine Māori, it’s meant to represent Papatūānuku and her love and care for everyone in our community,” Betts said. “It’s also not a campaign but a vision of having an image that could interweave all of the work we do in the hope people could recognise and resonate with everything she stands for.” In 2014, the Far North road safety team engaged with two local graffiti artists, requesting a piece of work with a road safety message. The image created by Ahipara artist Haylee Solomon (nee Ngaroma Fitzpatrick), who was just 19 years old at the time, was chosen by the road safety team to be included in the developing road safety campaigns. Betts said Solomon’s artwork was chosen as it was her powerful image of Papatūānuku and the one tear falling from her eye (representative of one death too many on the roads) that was the stand-out. She said after years of working in marketing, the One Tear Too Many kaupapa and Papatūānuku image had been one of the most effective and universal brands she’d ever worked with. “We’ve conducted focus groups with Māori and Non-Māori, young and old, male and female and this image is one that resonates with everyone, it’s really quite incredible,” Betts said. “More recent surveys have shown the recognition rate, particularly in Kaitaia, is still very high and we’ve been able to use her image for road safety resources, buses, educational materials and road signs around the district. “Every time we travel around Aotearoa wearing our T-Shirts we’re always asked where people can buy them and that’s a credit to Haylee for her concept and what has evolved since then.” In 2015, the One Tear Too Many brand was officially launched with a billboard reveal in a paddock off SH12 near Rawene. Since then, several One Tear Too Many billboards have been placed around the district, with the brand evolving to adapt to different campaigns and technology over time. Coming up to the brand’s 10-year anniversary, Betts said it now felt like the right time to refresh and revitalise, especially given the higher number of fatalities in 2022. She felt it pertinent to do so coming into the district’s busiest season, with an anticipated large increase of vehicle volume and concern for the state of SH10 due to the SH1 closure at the Mangamuka Gorge. “We have decided to relaunch into new branding, but the essence of Papatūānuku has remained the same,” Betts. “In 2021 the road safety team worked with a design company and put a callout to artists to come up with their interpretation of Papatūānuku but based on the original image from Haylee. “These images were then run through local focus groups and the original image has now evolved into a refreshed resemblance.” Betts added the image of Papatūānuku had been gifted a new moko kauae by Richard Hape which would be officially launched mid-October when another local artist, Sheree Wagener, would put her own artwork alongside the refreshed Papatūānuku image. Stay tuned for part two of this series where artist Haylee Ngaroma Fitzpatrick talks about how she came up with her interpretation of the One Tear Too Many kaupapa and what inspired her about Papatūānuku.
End.
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Anyone living in Te Hiku o Te Ika/the Far North of Aotearoa New Zealand, will recognise the iconic billboards featuring a wāhine Māori crying next to the saying, “One Tear Too Many”.
The image represents Papatūānuku, with her message for all road users to drive safely and stay alive on the district’s local roads and state highways.
The road safety kaupapa was developed by the Far North REAP Road Safety Team in 2014, who recognised the road safety messaging was not resonating with the Te Hiku community.
Over the next few weeks, a series of articles will explore the whakapapa of the One Tear Too Many road safety kaupapa, to explore where it all began, the kōrero from the artists behind the artwork and a new direction for the kaupapa.
In this second article, the artist
who created the original image
of Papatūānuku, Ahipara’s Haylee Ngaroma Solomon (nee Fitzpatrick) shares her kōrero about the inspiration behind her iconic artwork.
At just 19 years old, Ahipara’s Haylee Ngaroma Solomon (nee Fitzpatrick) says she had no idea how her response to a local road safety campaign brief would go on to become an image people from all walks of life would come to resonate with. Solomon (Ngāti Hine, Te Rarawa,
Ngāpuhi) is of the Beatson whānau from Ahipara and was one of two graffiti artists approached.
in 2014 by Dougal and Carolyn Taueki-Stott of the Far North road safety team to come up with a piece of artwork featuring a road safety message.
Inspired by her surroundings and love of her community, Solomon’s powerful
interpretation of Papatūānuku and one tear falling from her eye (representing one death too many on the roads) has grown to become a familiar Far North symbol, used on road safety material, billboards and resources for almost a decade.
Solomon said while she hadn’t anticipated such a positive response to her art, the whole experience had been really uplifting and was cool to see once the billboards were erected.
“My inspiration came from my personal connection to the whenua
in Ahipara and the image of Maunga Whangatauatia and the base of the curve design when looking at Ahipara from Kaitaia,” Solomon said.
“Artistically I’ve always been inspired by the places I live in and the whenua is always a big part of my art, even when the theme has nothing to do with the earth.
“I just love being around the landscapes of Northland and that’s probably why I felt the care she (Papatūānuku) has for all of us and I wanted to reciprocate that back to her in the image I painted.”
Solomon said she sketched her original image of Papatūānuku on paper, before spray-painting a large-scale image of her as part of an end of year celebration at Kaitaia’s Te Ahu Centre. She said due to the intricacies of her image, she wasn’t able to incorporate everything she’d sketched on paper with the spray paint, so it was her original sketches that were used for the road safety campaign.
Far North REAP Road Safety manager Jodi Betts said given her team worked full-time in an area of hurt and grief,
it had been important for someone like Solomon to come in with a blank canvas.
She said they also wanted the kaupapa to be positive, which celebrated the people and places of Te Hiku.
“A lot of our staff have been exposed to a lot of trauma and stuff that doesn’t heal, so we needed someone who could come up with a visual image where you could feel that,” Betts said.
“We also wanted to work with someone who didn’t work in the sector and who could come at it from a different angle and share the message through their own personal story.
“It was important the artist took ownership of the piece and could give some of themselves to this and hopefully carry this on into their own networks of people.”
Betts said the team eventually digitised Solomon’s original sketch and over time, adapted it for social media, for Petricevich bus backs, cinema ads in Kerikeri and Kaitaia, and other road safety education material.
These days, Solomon is a busy mum to two girls, a whakapapa researcher and lives in Nelson where her husband is from.
She said after studying a year of a BA of Fine Arts in Hawaii and opening her own online arts shop, she had decided to put down the tools to focus on full-time mahi and her small whānau.
“It was nice to be able to do something for my whānau and my strong love of Northland and Māori culture which represents the majority of people in the North,” Solomon said.
“We’ve got really crappy roads up home which is a big deal and even I’ve popped my tyres on them, so I’ve literally experienced how dangerous it can be.
“That’s why this message is so important.”
End.
Artist - Sheree Wagner
Artist - Richard Hape
Moko Kauae drawn by Richard
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Papatūanuku shows the way to road safety
Anyone living in Te Hiku o Te Ika/ the Far North of Aotearoa New Zealand, will recognise the iconic billboards featuring a wāhine Māori crying next to the saying, “One Tear Too Many”.
The image represents Papatūānuku, with her message for all road users to drive safely on the district’s local roads and state highways. The road safety kaupapa was developed by the Far North REAP Road Safety Team in 2014, who recognised the road safety messaging was not resonating with the Te Hiku community. This article is the third in a series of articles that explores the whakapapa of the One Tear Too Many road safety kaupapa, to explore where it all began, the kōrero from the artists behind the artwork and a new direction for the kaupapa. Far North artists Sheree Wagener and Richard Hape (Ngai Takoto) talk about the evolution of the image of Papatūānuku and the big reveal of her on a new street mural on Taaffe St, Kaitaia. The striking image of Papatūānuku on billboards on roads across the Far North has grown to become an iconic symbol the local community has come to know and love. After almost 10 years since the original image was created by Ahipara artist, Haylee Solomon, the One Tear Too Many kaupapa has evolved and with that, the iconic image and her message of one death too many on our roads is now heading in a new direction. On Monday, the Far North Road Safety team held a special reveal ceremony for its new One Tear Too Many mural above Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri building on the corner of Commerce St and Taaffe St (Opposite Zed gas station). The mural was created by local artist Sheree Wagener, featuring another local artist, Richard Hape’s new image of Papatūānuku, spread across 15 panels on a wall 18 metres long and three metres high. Wagener said it was by far the biggest mural she’d ever worked on and had been inspired by the beauty of the Far North, while encompassing the road safety message that one life lost on our roads was “one tear too many”. She said while it was always a bit nerve wracking revealing her work, she was excited to share her creation which she hoped would help brighten the town, while spreading an important reminder to be safe on our roads. “This painting is all about portraying the story of Papatūānuku and our natural world, the tears she cries change into feathers and wind, to represent the spirits of our loved ones that we have lost to the roads,” Wagener said. “As a feather they are taking their last journey through our Far North’s natural world and are being guided by our native birds, before reaching Te Rerenga Wairua/ Cape Reinga. “The process of designing a new story with the team was an honour, we all couldn’t wait to get onto the painting part which is always so fun. “Once I started the first panels I found it hard to sleep at night because I was so excited to keep going. I have loved every minute of this process, it has been a beautiful moment in time that I am proud to be part of. The colourful mural has been painted on plywood with resene paint and some spray paint, which Wagener estimated took around 170 hours to paint. Former Far North REAP employee Richard Hape said he’d been equally excited and challenged to stay true to the story of the One Tear Too Many road safety message, while incorporating his own unique take on the kaupapa. Hape (Ngai Takoto) said he had felt honoured to be approached by Far North Road Safety manager Jodi Betts to come up with the new image of Papatūānuku last year and was stoked to see the final result. “It was a little bit of a hard process to be honest because I’d never designed something like that for such a big kaupapa and I really liked the image Haylee created because it was a really cool style,” Hape said. “I definitely learned how to tell my story better though and was eventually able to put my own spin on it.” Hape said he’d been inspired by other Māori artists, as well as the whenua of Te Hiku o Te Ika. He said for Papatūānuku’s moko kauae, he wanted to represent the Far North in its entirety, representing all iwi of Muriwhenua (Ngai Takoto, Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kuri), including Te Paatu. “The bottom of the moko kauae is shaped as a stingray which has its own significant kōrero, as it only ever travels in one direction and represents the story of one death too many on the roads and making sure to stay safe on the road,” Hape said. “The two koru coming from her lips represent her voice and Papatūānuku speaking to everyone about the importance of the kaupapa.”
Right:
Poumau Papali’i-Smith -
Far North REAP
Road Safety Educator
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Papatūanuku shows the way to road safety
Anyone living in Te Hiku o Te Ika/ the Far North of Aotearoa New Zealand, will recognise the iconic billboards featuring a wāhine Māori crying next to the saying, “One Tear Too Many”.
The image represents Papatūānuku and her message for all road users to drive safely on the district’s local roads and state highways.
The road safety kaupapa was first developed by the Far North REAP Road Safety Team in 2014, who recognised the road safety messaging was not resonating with the Te Hiku community.
Over the past few weeks, a series of articles have explored the whakapapa of One Tear Too Many- where
it all began, the variousartists’ kōrero and the new direction for the kaupapa.
In this fourth and final article, Far North REAP road safety educator Poumau Papali’i- Smith talks about the evolution of the image of Papatūānuku, the reason for its new direction and their vision for it to continue to be embraced and seen as a source of pride for the whole community.
After years of success sharing their iconic Papaptūānuku One Tear Too Many road safety message, the Far North REAP road safety team were excited to officially launch a new direction for their road safety kaupapa.
The reveal of the new Papatūānuku image, as part of a new One Tear Too Many mural on the Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri building in Kaitaia, was showcased to local kuia and kaumātua, community organisations and stakeholders on Monday (October 16).
The refreshed image, created by local artist Richard Hape, has been incorporated into a striking mural
by another local artist, Sheree Wagener, who came up with her own interpretation of the One Tear Too Many kaupapa.
Far North REAP road safety educator Poumau Papali’i-Smith said it was
an honour to share the kōrero behind the road safety message
and the whakapapa of the image of Papatūānuku, first created by Ahipara artist Haylee Solomon back in 2014.
He said the entire process had been a community effort from the beginning, and it was Far North REAP’s ability
to bring the community along the journey that had resonated with many.
“We had lots of feedback
from other organisations and social services, as well as conversations around refreshing the image began back in 2019, with the soft launch of the new Papatūānuku image starting post-Covid.
The image has since been used for road safety resources and materials and was the symbol of a Matariki hautapu (offering) and hikoi (communal walk) held earlier this year in Kaitaia, to remember those lost on the roads in the Far North since last Matariki.
Papali’i-Smith said while the kaupapa was headed in a new direction, the importance of Solomon’s original interpretation of Papatūānuku and its mantra remained, just in a different way.
He said with the reveal of the mural and its presence in town, he hoped
it would become a source of pride for the town and a catalyst for whanaungatanga (connection) and people talking about a topic not often talked about.
“It looks so beautiful up there with the sky as the backdrop and I hope people understand the image is all about connection to yourself, to
te taiao (the environment), to the community and to whānau, who are the ones left behind when someone passes on the roads,” Papali’i-Smith said.
“In our mundane day-to-day life, it’s not always something we think about, but it’s our hope people do think about their whānau when they see this image or before deciding to overtake someone when they shouldn’t or before getting behind the wheel after a few beers.
“We all know of someone who has died on our roads or know of someone who has lost someone and how it can change the whole trajectory of their lives.” local priest, who felt inspired by the way we’d worked with the community to achieve this outcome,” Papali’i-Smith said. “Some of the most important feedback for me, however, was from our kuia and kaumātua, who have years of wisdom and who were really positive, saying there needed to be more of this type of messaging.
“They also appreciated her moko kauae was created by our local artist Richard Hape and its representation of Te Hiku O Te Ika and the mahi we do.”
End.
Far North Districts Road Safety Team (part of)
Road Safety Far North, who we are:
Far North REAP
Moerewa Christian Fellowship Centre
Hauora Hokianga
Ngati Hine Health Trust
Te Runanga O Whaingaroa
Automotivate – Safer Communities
Te Hauora o Ngapuhi
