BUCKLE UP FOR WHĀNAU: NORTHLAND RUGBY TACKLES DEADLY SEATBELT TOLL

Northland rugby clubs are helping drive home a simple message to Māori men across Te Tai Tokerau — wearing a seatbelt could save your life.

Mike Te Wake, Chair of Te Rarawa and a Northland Rugby board member, joined Radio Waatea to discuss a new road-safety campaign using the reach of provincial rugby to encourage young men to buckle up on every journey.

The campaign comes amid sobering figures for the region. NZ Transport Agency data shows 67 percent of drivers or passengers who died in vehicle crashes in Northland during 2025 were not wearing a seatbelt. So far in 2026, to August, the figure was 43 percent.

Nationally, NZTA says 33 percent of drivers and passengers killed in crashes since 2020 were not wearing seatbelts, representing around 500 deaths. Men aged between 15 and 39 are among the groups particularly at risk, especially in regional communities.

The campaign has brought rugby into the road-safety conversation, with the Northland Taniwha, Waikato, Manawatū Turbos and Taranaki Bulls wearing specially designed jerseys featuring a seatbelt motif during selected September matches.

Te Wake says the impact of road deaths is deeply felt across Te Tai Tokerau communities. He has also pointed to wider challenges facing the region, including ageing roads and limited police presence, while stressing the preventable nature of deaths linked to people not buckling up.

The message behind the campaign is deliberately simple: whether the journey is five minutes down the road or several hours across the motu, buckle up for yourself and the whānau waiting for you to come home.

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