Working to create safer drivers for life

17 June 2010

High school students and their parents were given an insight into the realities of road safety this week as the RAC’s Community Education team travelled to Mandurah and Harvey.

Young drivers are among the most at-risk on the roads, with 17 to 24 year olds making up 14 per cent of the driving population but accounting for almost one third of serious and fatal crashes*.

Workshop participants were walked through the devastating impact road trauma has on Western Australia, the fatal four factors causing road deaths (drink and drug driving, speeding, fatigue and not wearing a seatbelt) and the consequences of the choices young people make.

Parents with children learning to drive also attended a ‘New Hands on the Wheel’ workshop that combined the RAC presentation ‘Aware at the Wheel’ with the School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA) ‘Keys for Life’ workshop. The evening provided information on the WA licensing system, the stages of learning to drive, tips for successful and safe lessons and choosing the right car.

RAC Community Education Officer Fiona Tabone said the workshops were a simple and effective way to get the road safety message across.

“The RAC believes it is really important to communicate not only with young drivers in metropolitan Perth but also in the State’s regional areas to educate them about the dangers they will face on the roads. It’s also just as important to educate their parents about the learning process,” Ms Tabone said.

“The RAC’s community education workshops are about encouraging good driver behaviour and creating safer drivers for life.”

In the past three years, 386 people died on Western Australia’s regional roads, accounting for 60 per cent of all road deaths in the State.

The RAC visited Mandurah on 16 June and Harvey on 17 June. This will be followed by a week in Esperance from 21 to 25 June.

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