Students take part in NZTA's Hackathon to improve road safety

'Save One More Life' is a digital innovation weekend focused on unleashing the potential of technology to reduce the road toll. They look for problem solvers, creatives, developers, analysts, behavioural experts, UX designers and anyone who is wanting to make a difference. It is led by the New Zealand Transport Agency, and brings in creatives from all over the country.

This year it was ran between 16th - 18th March, and our very own students took part in reimagining how technology can make a meaningful difference to our road safety. The teams had 48 hours to create their concepts and prototypes, at which point they were presented to a judging panel.

"Great concepts only come across if they are well communicated. UX and design is so important to helping the audience and judges understand the prototype. Having Media Design School students, who are constantly up-skilling in best practice and emerging techniques, gave teams an edge in communicating and visualising their idea." - Fiona Millar, Innovation Zone Community Lead - NZTA

Despite all the innovation and talent that the weekend saw, only one team could reign supreme; the team behind Licence Me. 

This proposed app essentially tracks driver progress regarding speed, breaking, cornering and accelerating, and uses that data to encourage safe driving. The incentive being, a reduced time on a restricted license from 18 to 12 months, if the driver can model good driving skills. 

As part of their prize, the team behind this app will be working with NZTA, with the possibility of their concept being turned into a reality.

We would like to congratulate all of those who took part, and if you would like to learn more about NZTA's hackathon, click here.