WelCom August 2024
An innovative app designed by a group of Sacred Heart College Napier business students is poised to revolutionise the path for students to gain a restricted driver’s licence. The students are collaborating with Victoria University of Wellington to develop the app.
‘Road Ready NZ’ is the brainchild of Year 12 students Adalyn Homan, Amber Wright, Sneha Jenson, Sophia Unwin, Chahat Dhami and Violet Unwin who have been taking part in this year’s Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES).
The app is being designed to utilise GPS technology to simulate a restricted test around the driver’s chosen area with traffic lights, roundabouts and parking manoeuvres. Voice commands will guide users through the simulated test routes, offering tips and highlighting common mistakes to enhance learner drivers’ preparation for their driver licence tests.
Adalyn says the idea for the app came from a conversation with her mother when Adalyn expressed frustration over the limited resources available to young drivers preparing for their tests.
‘I had just taken my restricted test and I was complaining there weren’t a lot of resources out there to help. I ended up going to driving school but it wasn’t cheap. It made me realise how unfair it is that people who can’t afford the financial cost of getting their licence miss out.’
The students surveyed their wider school community to gauge whether anyone had broken the restrictions of the graduated driver licensing system and why.
‘We found people aren’t moving through the licence levels,’ Sneha says. ‘They don’t have the means or the encouragement, or their parents don’t have the time to teach them. Therefore, they’re just staying on a learner or restricted licence.
‘We believe our app is a solution and will go a long way to helping people graduate through the levels and not break those rules.’
Despite initial doubts about the feasibility of developing an app, the team persevered. They teamed up with five students from Victoria University of Wellington, who will develop the app as part of their post-graduate programme.
Sophia says they used specific software to design the app, which they have sent to the university students to develop. A draft app is expected to be ready soon, with plans for refinement and marketing over the next few months.
As the project progresses, the group remains focused on their goal of launching the free-to-use app to the public.
For more information and to contact Road Ready NZ visit: @roadreadynz on Instagram and Road Ready NZ on Facebook.
