2025 Winter Leadership Program wrap up

Too many young people aged 17 to 25 are getting seriously injured and killed on WA roads. It’s a big problem, and something needs to change. 

To help tackle this, we brought together some of the state’s brightest minds for the RAC Ignite Leadership Program. These young leaders learnt new skills through interactive workshops, got advice from experts who have experience in road safety and then worked in teams to come up with fresh ideas to help keep young people safe on the roads.

Taking the program regional

This winter, we ran our first Winter Leadership Program, mostly based in the South West and focused on road safety. Twelve amazing young people joined forces with one mission: to help stop serious crashes involving people their age.

The program kicked off with a four-night retreat at Evedon Lakeside Retreat in Burekup. First up, everyone settled in, made new friends, and enjoyed the beautiful location. Then, it was straight into learning – with fun activities designed to explore what leadership means in our lives today.

On day two, we took a deep dive into road safety and heard from experts about key statistics and the impact of road trauma. The group learned important skills that are essential to create real change. To finish off the day, Investing in our Youth came for a visit to showcase their learn to drive simulator.

Day three was a big one – it started with a touching panel presentation with Heart Hub South West, who spoke about the impact of road trauma. Participants then went on an immersive day trip to visit the Bunbury Hospital and P.A.R.T.Y Program, the City of Bunbury, WALGA and the Bunbury Geographe Motor Museum. The participants got to see how different groups help raise awareness, implement safety measures and handle road crashes.

By day four, it was time to get creative. In groups, the young leaders chose the road safety problem they wanted to solve, did some research, and came up with possible ideas. They even learned how to make quick versions of their ideas (called prototypes) and test them out.

The final day of the retreat was all about presenting ideas – learning how to pitch like a pro and build support from others. After the retreat, there were three online sessions and a pitch practice to help the groups improve their ideas, boost confidence, and get ready for the final event.

The big pitch: final event

All their hard work came together in July at a special event at RAC Koorlup (West Perth). The teams pitched their ideas to a panel of expert judges, including:

• Jacqueline McGowan-Jones – Commissioner for Children and Young People
• Sharon Rowse – RAC General Manager Community Impact
• Matthew Menezes – 2024 RAC Ignite Leadership Program winner

RAC Group CEO Rob Slocombe was also there to hand out certificates and congratulate all the teams.  

And the winning idea is…

Congratulations to Sylvia, Jade, Cammie, and Thane who won first place!

Their idea? To equip learner drivers with real-world driving experience in a safe environment. 

Their solution? Set 4 a Drive: a realistic, 4D immersive simulator that allows young drivers to experience and learn from high-risk driving situations without real-world danger.

The ultimate goal? They explained the current Hazard Perception Test used in the licensing process provides limited examples of real roads. 

They proposed to introduce the simulator in all Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure’s licensing centres as a plausible improvement to the learn to drive process.

Other awesome ideas

The other two teams also came up with great solutions:

• One team created an app called RAC Roam – a smart road trip helper to keep young drivers safer, especially in country areas.
• The other team suggested a special driver training centre in Bunbury with a three-day program called Survive the Drive.

A huge thank you to all our amazing participants!

What’s Next?

The RAC Ignite Leadership Program has helped launch a new generation of changemakers. We’re so proud of what they’ve achieved – and excited to see where they go next!