A ROAD safety initiative that aims to save young lives is Bathurst bound.
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The annual Rotary Youth Driver Awareness Program (RYDA) – which is being pitched to Year 11 students from across the district – will return to Mount Panorama this week.
Bathurst Rotary’s Brian Burke, an advocate of the RYDA program, said it was delivered to about 50,000 high school students aged 17 to 18 years at 80 venues across Australia and New Zealand every year.
Mr Burke said sessions cover topics including stopping distances, hazards, distractions and risks, alcohol, drugs, fatigue and making the right road choices.
“One session that I believe really makes a profound difference is the one with a crash survivor,” Mr Burke said.
“This is a powerful presentation by a person who has a brain or spinal injury as a result of a motor vehicle crash.
“Another session deals with ‘my wheels’. It allows students to learn about vehicle safety, covering topics such as ABS brakes, car maintenance and insurance.”
Mr Burke said young people aged 17 to 25 represent 15 per cent of the population but account for around a quarter of deaths and injuries on the roads.
“Getting behind the wheel of a car as a young driver is said to be the most dangerous thing that a person will do in their entire life,” he said.
“The good thing about the RYDA program is that it teaches essential life skills and to take greater responsibility for themselves and their friends before they face the challenges of driving solo or as a passenger of a new driver.”
The week-long initiative will start today.
“It’s held at an out-of-school venue, chosen to highlight the road safety message, and you can’t get a better location than our very own Mount Panorama,” Mr Burke said.
One of the facilitators at last year’s program, Matthew Irvine, said the initiative gives the students a point of contact with experts in their field.