A group of business students from Sacred Heart College Napier are poised to revolutionise the restricted license journey with an innovative app designed to assist students in getting behind the wheel.

‘Road Ready NZ’ is the brainchild of Year 12 Sacred Heart College Napier students Adalyn Homan, Amber Wright, Sneha Jenson, Sophia Unwin, Chahat Dhami, and Violet Unwin, who are taking part in the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES).

Adalyn says the idea came from a conversation with her mum when she expressed frustration over the limited resources available for young drivers preparing for their tests. 

“I had just taken my restricted test and I was complaining of the fact that 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 license miss out.”

They surveyed the wider school community to gauge whether anyone had broken the restrictions of the graduated driver licensing system and why. 

“We found that people aren’t moving through the license levels,” Sneha says.

“They don’t have the means or the encouragement or their parents don’t have time to teach them and therefore they’re just staying on a learner or restricted license.” 

“We believe our app is a solution for that and will go a long way to helping people graduate through the levels and not break those rules.” 

The app will 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 learning and preparation.

"It would be just like if you were using a GPS, but it would be for a restricted test,” Sneha adds. 

Despite initial doubts about the feasibility of developing an app, the team persevered, seeking guidance from industry experts before contacting universities around the country to collaborate with. 

"We went to the Kickstart Day at Lindisfarne with all the YES groups, and we tried to get some advice from different people but often we got told that it was too difficult a project so we kind of thought an app was quite out of reach for us. But we were still interested in the idea,” Adalyn says. 

However, they found a solution by collaborating with five students from Victoria University of Wellington, who will develop the app as part of their post-graduate. 

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 by next month, with plans for marketing and refinement in the following months. 

It is the first time Sacred Heart College Napier has had a Year 12 Business Studies class, and a group participating in YES. 

The scheme sees senior secondary students around the country create a product or service and bring it to market throughout the course of the school year, completing challenges along the way.  

Road Ready NZ is excited to see what happens. As the project progresses, the group remains focused on their ultimate goal of launching the free-to-use app to the public. 

Business and Enterprise Teacher Simon Rutherford says the process has been “completely self-taught” by his students. 

For more information and to contact Road Ready NZ visit: @roadreadynz on Instagram and Road Ready NZ on Facebook. 

Article added: Wednesday 05 June 2024