It all began with a handful of students ...

SADD, like most movements, had very small beginnings ...

IT all begun in 1986, following a spate of crashes, when a small group of students at Mahurangi College in Warkworth, New Zealand, banded together to say enough is enough.  An American exchange student, who was studying at Mahurangi College at the time, introduced the concept of SADD - based on a similar programme which had already begun in the United States

From then and through 1987 pockets of students in various areas around the country began to rise up against drink driving – and being inspired by the Mahurangi College group, they too called it SADD (Students Against Driving Drunk).   

The issue was so important at the time and in the consciousness of our communities, that in 1988 SADD became a national organisation with funding and support from the AA (NZ Automobile Association) to resource and organise student groups across the country. 

As an organisation we’ve continued to grow and develop since our inception and today we have active programmes running in over 63% of all secondary schools with hundreds of student members, thousands of participants and an audience of over 192,000 young people.  These days we are principally funded by the NZTA and the AA has continued to support us in varying ways for over 25 years.

In its earliest days SADD was a simple movement.  It grew, and the conversation became a national one.  Students revolutionised their own culture around drink driving and this had an impact on the whole community.  

Our country has come a long way and achieved much in terms of reducing the harm caused on our roads by drink drivers – but with 138 deaths recorded in 2009 (32% of all fatal crashes) and young drivers still responsible for around 35% of alcohol related fatal crashes – we’re not done yet.

Today, like in 1986, our organisation is made up  of students who care and who want to see change ... that handful of students has grown however, to hundreds of active members who through their work impact on hundreds of thousands of young NZers.

SADD Ambassadors 2010: Hamish, Beka, Victoria, Shawnee and Will

 After 25 years in operation we can look back and know that the first ever SADD students would be of an average age of 42 now ... the average age of today's members is 16 - we have crossed a generation and SADD , sadly (excuse the pun), remains as relevant today as 25 years ago.  

We can never count how many lives have been saved over our 25 years and as the result of the thousands of SADD students who worked hard on this issue - but we can count how many more we must continue to fight for!

We are proud of our legacy and excited about this our 25th year ...

 To find out how you can be part of the legacy and get involved with SADD - see our website for details:   www.sadd.co.nz