Giving back – the rewards of being a driver mentor

Opening the door to employment and other opportunities for young people was the prime reason for Porirua City Councillor, Ross Leggett, to join the Drive 4 Life community driver mentor scheme in 2024.

“I know that having a driver licence is extremely important for young people looking for jobs – so I thought why not help as much as I can.”

For Ross, mentoring involves a couple of hours a week working with Year 12 and 13 students from Porirua College.

“As well as having a licence and being a good driver, if you want to be a mentor you’ve got to be interested in teenagers and want to provide them with opportunities.”

By the time students get to Ross they are already pretty good drivers thanks to the Drive 4 Life team who work with the students before the mentors get involved.

“They are respectful, they want to drive, and they are focused on the job at hand. They’re not just starting out – they’re already a 6 or 7 out of 10 in terms of ability and I’m there to help guide and reinforce positive behaviour.

He says the students are motivated to get their licence. “Some know exactly what they want to do next year, and others are less sure. One wants to be a mechanic; others want to go to university or into the military. Getting a driver licence is one of the steps along the way.

“You can tell when students are ready to sit their licence. They do all the right things checking mirrors, watching their speed and they’re not making silly mistakes.”

One of the things he likes most about being a mentor is learning about the students’ perspectives and aspirations. “It’s very interesting to get their reflections on life, college and other students. They come from a different era to me, and I have learned from them.”

He says anyone thinking about being a mentor should not hesitate. “You get a lot of support and learning from the Drive 4 Life team, you go through the checklist of what’s needed – things like checking your mirrors, going through roundabouts, merging etc and you also ride-along in the back seat to observe a lesson.”

Having been a mentor for a year Ross says its great seeing students improve on the difficult manoeuvres like reverse parallel parking and then hearing that one of the students he has helped mentor, has passed. “It’s satisfying knowing I played a tiny part in helping them get their licence.”

Ross says an added bonus has been brushing up on the Road Code; “it’s been really good for me and has made me a safer driver”.

You can read more about the Drive 4 Life programme here.