Teams of Oamaru secondary school pupils wove their way around obstacles at Takaro Park in cardboard cars on Wednesday afternoon.
Organised by Waitaki Students Against Dangerous Driving (Sadd) and Road Safety Waitaki, the Cardboard Car Rally highlighted various road safety messages, with pupils from Waitaki Boys' High School, Waitaki Girls' High School and St Kevin's College working as teams for two hours.
Police did breath tests, checked tyres and scanned the speeds of cardboard car rally teams, some staff taking on the course themselves.
St John and the Fire Service also attended, volunteer firefighters helping to cool participants off with a mudslide at the end of the two hour-event.
''We wanted people to have fun, laugh and enjoy themselves, but take home a very serious message,'' Waitaki Sadd leader Mikaela Young said.
That serious message was brought home by the presence at the event of the car 22-year-old Scott Addison was driving when he crashed and died on a rural North Otago road on December 28, 2012.
Mr Addison's blood-alcohol level, 210mg, was twice the legal limit when he crashed that night, having failed to take a bend in the road, before sliding sideways and wrapping his car around a tree.
After the crash, Mr Addison's family asked police to take the car around Oamaru secondary schools to show the pupils the tragic consequences when alcohol and speed were combined.
Next term, school community officer Carrie Hamilton will be visiting Oamaru schools with the vehicle, highlighting the ''fatal five'' factors: speed, alcohol, not wearing a seat belt, dangerous driving and high-risk driver behaviour.
It is hoped the Cardboard Car Rally can become an annual event.
