Program helps future drivers be safer drivers

MORE than 150 high school students from Geelong have turned the ignition on National Road Safety Week by learning how to become safer drivers.

Students at Geelong Lutheran College and Belmont High School spent the first day of National Road Safety Week (May 16-23) last week taking part in RYDA, an award-winning practical education program developed by Road Safety Education Limited (RSE).

Students from Saint Ignatius College Geelong will also participate in the program later this month, as RYDA continues to grow in the Geelong area.

The RYDA program aims to provide road safety education to more than 40,000 senior high school students nationally every year, and is sponsored by Boral as part of the company’s commitment to safety and supporting the communities in which it operates.

The program challenges students to change the way they think about road safety and gives them the tools and knowledge they need to stay safe on the roads, as both drivers and passengers.

As part of the workshops, students look at road safety from the perspective of other road users and explore the different challenges that each face.

Boral Australia president and chief executive officer Wayne Manners said Boral took its road safety responsibilities very seriously.

“Boral has a long proud history of supporting the communities where we operate. Our partnership with RSE is an opportunity to support young people to become safer drivers,” Mr Manners said.

“Boral is committed to achieving ‘zero harm’ across all our operations, including our drivers, on public roads.

“We have a strong focus on safety and training for our drivers, but a vast majority of fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles are not caused by the driver of the heavy vehicle.”

Since launching the partnership in 2018, Boral has worked with RSE to develop new educational materials that look at the challenges faced by heavy vehicles including blind spots, and stopping distances, and identify safe actions students can take when sharing the road with heavy vehicles and other road users.

RSE chief executive officer and managing director Terry Birss said road safety is a shared responsibility, and making our roads safer required the support of organisations such as Boral.

“While road trauma levels have declined over the years, the annual economic cost of road crashes in Australia is estimated at $27 billion, and the social impacts are devastating,” Mr
Birss said.

“By joining the RYDA family, Boral and RSE will work towards their goal of achieving zero harm and educating all novice drivers and their passengers on road safety.”