Road safety was on the agenda for some Year 10 students at a Yarra Valley school as part of a longstanding awareness program.
Lilydale Heights College students headed to Box Hill Institute in Lilydale to take part in the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program, run by Road Safety Education Limited (RSE) and supported by Rotarians, on Monday 10 November.
Local RYDA facilitator Andrea Bigham said she has been part of the RYDA program for 10 years and is very passionate about it, having attended many car crashes volunteering for her local fire brigade.
“RYDA helps young drivers to prevent crashes before they occur as both drivers and passengers…it’s definitely not about shocking or scaring students, we’re actually about empowering them with the right information to make the right choices,” she said.
“It’s about introducing them to what I call the basic building blocks of staying safe on our roads as a driver and passenger.”
The schedule for the day consisted of a rotation of six workshops that taught students the impacts of road trauma on our communities, practical advice and tips about how to stay safe on our roads and how to support themselves and their friends to make smart decisions.
Year 10 Learning Leader at Lilydale Heights College Jane Scobie said the RYDA program is a fantastic initiative that greatly benefits Year 10 students at the important stage of becoming the next generation of drivers on our roads.
“It offers students a holistic overview of road safety and encourages students to see themselves as part of a broader community of road users,” she said.
“It was important for students to work with each other and ask themselves what kind of friend they think they are and how they can be supportive of others to make the right choice.
“Students had the opportunity to speak with people with lived experience of road trauma and discuss the ongoing impact of this on their lives.”
Workshops provided students with the opportunities to do role plays, take part in debates, hear from people with lived experiences and watch demonstrations, including a presentation on speed and stopping where professional driving instructors show just how long it takes to stop when driving at speed.
Ms Bigham said education for young drivers is vital.
“Let’s face it, we’re all young once and totally felt invincible at that age group but unfortunately, as you get older, you see the consequences of things going wrong in life and we need to get through to the young that they must prevent that crash from occurring in the first place,” she said.
“You can’t rewind or scroll back to change the outcome of any crash.”
Three Rotarians from each of the Lilydale and Nunawading rotary clubs volunteered on the day to assist with the program.
Lilydale Rotary Club President Des Shiel said he believes that all student should attend this course or a similar course to prepare them for the responsibility they gain when they get their license.
“As the course shows, they’re at their most vulnerable in the first very short time after they receive their P-plate license and the statistics shows just how dangerous it is,” he said.
“One person in the car doing the right thing can change what the outcome is for the whole car load of people if it’s handled correctly.”
Funding from Yarra Ranges Council and the Rotary Club of Lilydale supported the program.
Ms Scobie said it is vital for young people to be aware of the rights and responsibilities of road use.
“We want to educate and empower them to feel confident to make the right decisions about how they drive and who they drive with, many of the teaching team lamented not having a similar experience in their secondary school years,” she said.
“The program offers students a mix of lecture-style, workshop and practical advice ranging from safe breaking speeds, blind spots, decision making and the potential impacts of peer pressure. “Thank you to the wonderful RYDA staff and Rotary volunteers for their professionalism and organisation, we had a fantastic day.”
Billanook College students are also set to take part in the program at the start of December.
Ms Bigham said she encouraged young drivers to remember they have one chance at life and huge potential in front of them.
“You know the difference between right and wrong, but you need to have the strength to stay with that conviction, especially when peer pressure is going the wrong way, you need to have the strength to speak up and protect your life and the lives of loved ones around you by making the right choices because you know what the right choices are,” she said.
“Unfortunately, our road statistics are appalling, people, I think, are complacent and apathy is high about our roads until someone that they love near is involved in road trauma, then whole worlds shatter and people’s lives are never the same again, but that is too late.”
