Newsletters

December 2009. Newsletter.

May 2010 Newsletter.

We were recently asked why we are so “negative” at SADD. Why do we call ourselves South Africans AGAINST Drunk Driving? Not “SA for SOBER DRIVING!”

Well to answer this question we would like to give some FACTS!

· 1 in 15 drivers at night are apparently drunk in SA

· The chances of being in a crash in South Africa are 1 in 101 (1 in 5,000 in many other countries)

· 90% of crashes in SA are due to non-compliance of traffic laws

· More children are killed in road accidents than by AIDS or malaria

· 9,000 people die each year and 75,000 are injured because of alcohol misuse

· (Figures supplied by Gary Ronald – Automobile Association)

· “South Africans have no respect for the law” -- Ntau Letebele.

Does that make you think? That is why we are AGAINST drink driving!

SADD is FOR:

· Seatbelt use – front and back

· Taking turns for being the ‘Designated Driver’

· Catching taxis after drinking

· Leaving your lights on all day

SADD is extremely busy at present as we kick off our Lotto Funded Project – to teach Grade 12 learners and their Life Orientation teachers / Principals about Road Safety, alcohol – its effects, misuse, Units of Alcohol, elimination rates, drink driving/walking and treatment options.

This is a massive 12 month project and will take us all over KZN. We hope to reach thousands of learners and educators and their communities in this 12 month period.

In addition to this we have received further funding from the South African Breweries and will continue our very valuable work in the Universities and expand into Universities of Technology. Our material is being translated into Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans.

SAB have shown a huge commitment to addressing the problems caused by Drink Driving and have provided the funding for the Alcohol Evidence Centres throughout SA (there are 6 so far and more are coming soon) This is where drivers are taken after they have been stopped on the roadside and are breathalysed with the Dräger machine, which is admissible in court.

SADD is assisting the Stellenbosch Booze Bus, and is setting up an AEC in Underberg.

We have had an enthusiastic response to our AlcoFreeTeen™ Project and many schools have expressed interest. We hope to expand this programme significantly to support the “Concerned Communities Campaign” and the “Shark Smart Initiative” (in 10 schools in KZN) This is to try and stop underage drinking, and the harm binge drinking is causing teenagers.

Whilst we have received funding from both LOTTO and SOUTH AFRICAN BREWERIES, these monies are strictly for Projects and still leaves us struggling to run the office and we have no funds to employ additional staff. The NSRI gets R250, 000 from fundraising drives and R250, 000 from tin collections!

If you are willing to put tins in shops or post offices in your area and look after them, please contact us and we will send them to you. Thank you all for your continued support. Best wishes, Caro and all at SADD.

December 2009.Newsletter

SADD has made some good progress this year!

•    Recognised by W.H.O. Caro and Charlotte were sponsored to attend the Conference in Brussels and were joined by 70 other Advocacy NGO’s who represent road victims and road users. The 70 organisations are sharing skills and encouragement!
•    Caro was sponsored to attend the “International Alcohol Ignition Interlock” Symposium in Australia, so SADD can help bring Alcolock and Offender Treatment Programmes to SA.
•    SADD approached Minister Sbu Ndebele and Parliament to make Alcolocks mandatory for taxi drivers, buses, freight trucks and convicted drink drivers. We got very good radio and media coverage about Alcolocks.
•    We are continuing our University Project, and SAB have very kindly donated money for the work we did in 2009, to help translate the manual into Afrikaans, Sotho and Zulu.
•    “18,000 Soles for 18,000 Souls” ---- World Day of Remembrance. The response was fantastic and SADD would like to thank everyone who so generously donated shoes for our display. It was a great success and we had very good press coverage, as well as being able to help many disadvantaged people.
•    SADD survived a very tough financial year, with virtually no funding at all!
•    We now have 2 applications in for Lotto funding.

Thank you for your help and thoughts. We hope to go from strength to strength next year. Please send us your recommendations for what we should focus on next year, and how you would like to be involved.
We wish all our members a Happy Christmas and New Year.
To those of you who have lost family members and friends, we send our thoughts to you, as we once again share a painful Christmas without our loved ones.
Take care,
From us all at SADD

July 2009 Newsletter.

July 2009. Newsletter.

June 2009 Newsletter.

June 2009.Newsletter.

Dear SADD member,

SADD is at a critical point in its history.
On the one hand we have received tremendous recognition and accolades for the work we have done (and are doing), but on the other hand we are facing a financial crisis.
We are at present relying on spasmodic fund raisers and donations to keep going, which is very frustrating as we have numerous projects that we would like to implement. Our University project that ran in 2008/early 2009 has now virtually come to a standstill.
We had wanted to take the Project into other Universities and Technicons and have it translated into Zulu, Sotho and Afrikaans, but we cannot do this as we do not have a sponsor this year.
There are countless other projects that we could start almost immediately if we had funds.

The situation on our roads is far from improving and the World Health Organization is predicting that by 2030 Road accidents will be the 5th leading cause of death in the world.
We are already losing more than 18 000 people per year in THIS COUNTRY.
To stop this increasing, we need to be proactive.

We need all our members to mobilize and offer support to us in any way possible. It might be fundraising, offer to assist us with computer training, get involved and run Projects in your area
SADD are now more able to tell you what YOU can do, and can offer you the expertise to run a Project.

Therefore we have attached a Questionnaire
Please take 5 minutes of your time to complete it and return it to us.
We would really appreciate it.
We need to update our records so if you have changed any of your contact details please let us know.

MEMBERS' QUESTIONNAIRE:
How would you like to help SADD?
1    Give a donation       - once off, yearly, or monthly Debit Order.
2    Fund Raise
a) Civvies Day at school -- tell school about SADD
b) Cakes Sale / Fun Run / Bike Race
c)Dinner for friends and show SADD DVD
d)Concerts
e) Get friends and family or sponsor SADD
f) Anything else you can think of !!!
3    Handout SADD Alcohol information -- Posters, Bumper Stickers and Units of
Alcohol cards etc at functions,or to stick up at Schools,Bars,Clubs,etc.
(We will post the goods to you.)
4    Have a garage sale - proceeds to SADD
(You will be amazed how much your "junk" is worth)
5    Sign petitions asking for enforcement of Traffic Laws
(We are designing new Petitions and will send to you soonest.)
6    Get others to sign such petitions.
7    Just receive SADD newsletters
8    Be taken off the SADD mailing list
9    Suggestions for other Projects.
10    Go out to local schools to:-
a) Speak to Life Orientations teachers
b) Show our DVD and tell about number of deaths on our roads
c) Encourage people to join SADD
(We will give you a Power Point presentation)
11    Go to your Rotary/Lions/Round Table clubs and show them our Power Point
presentation and ask for assistance
(We will provide the PowerPoint)
12    Speak to your local MP and tell him the seriousness of Drinking then Driving
13    Meet with your local Municipality head of Traffic and give him info from SADD.
(We will design and send these to you.)
14    Collect 'Drink Drivers' names from your court and then get them published in
your local newspaper.
"Name and Shame" Campaign.(SADD will give you specific details how to do this)
15    Send SADD details of Drink Driving crashes & we will put this info on our website.
16    Write letters to the Press about the seriousness of Drink Driving.
17    World Day of Remembrance of Car Crash Victims.3rd Sunday in November.
Organize Church Services,displays,Protests,awareness drives.
(SADD will give you more info,)
18    Other suggestions please.

December 2008 Newsletter

December 12th ‘08. SADD Newsletter

SADD has had excellent media coverage in the past few weeks. There have been many articles in newspapers, guest/specialist appearances on ETV news (2 appearances – 28th Nov. & 1st Dec),
3-Talk with Noeleen (3rd December), as well as a SABC 2 shows about “Teenagers and Alcohol”, which will be aired next year.

The emphasis on Drink Driving picks up very well every Christmas and Easter, but we need to remind the Department of Transport that crashes happen ALL year and they need to do random testing ALL through the year.

Spar TOPS stores in KZN will now stock Redline Breathalyzers, which is a success story and took a lot of hard work! We hope to get them into Spar stores nationwide in the future.

If anyone has contacts for getting Breathalyzers into any other stores or chemists etc. please get hold of us.

The “SAB/SADD University Project” is going very well. The program is being used widely in Orientation week at UCT, Stellenbosch, Wits, Rhodes, Bloem, UJ and UKZN.

Hopefully SAB will sponsor SADD again next year, which will enable us to translate the material into Zulu, Sotho, and Afrikaans, and help to get the programs into Technicons.

SADD website and information is a compulsory topic for Grade 9 learners now, and is part of the Life Orientation Classes.

Caro presented a day’s workshop to SADC members at the Road Safety Masters Class 2008 Conference in JHB.

Some Christmas tips:

Party tips:        Have bottles/jugs of water on the table
Provide soda water
Serve lower % alcoholic drinks and beers
Some Rose wines are 7% (Drosty Hof Light, Four Cousins) and the new JC Le Roux Rose sparkling wine is also lower in pure alcohol.
Make alcohol free punches and cool drinks readily available
Don’t let drunk friends drive home. Put them up overnight or call a Taxi.

Present suggestions:      Ask friends/family to make a small donation to SADD in lieu of Christmas presents.

Travel tips:

“Buckle up” in the front and back at all times.
Drive with zero alcohol in your system – so you can be vigilant of other “idiots” on the road.
Try to keep off the roads in the “silly/unsafe” hours i.e. between 12 midnight and 6am.

Our offices are closed from the 16th of December until the 2nd of January.
Have a good break and thanks for the work and support, and best wishes.

The SADD Team in PMB
ecember 2008 Newsletter.