There's nothing worse than attending a fatal accident where the victim is a young driver, says Batemans Bay Highway Patrol’s acting Sergeant Brett Gruber.
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This is why he believes programs that target young drivers, such as Rotary’s Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program, are so important.
Year 11 students from Eurobodalla schools were taught about safe stopping distances, distractions and the effects of alcohol as part of the program, which was held yesterday and will continue today at the Moruya Jockey Club.
This will be Sgt Gruber’s first appearance in the program, and he will talk to students about road safety and holding a licence.
“It’s something I’m very keen to do,” he said “I’m very passionate about young people and their licences.
“There’s nothing worse than to see the loss of a young life in a traffic accident. We lose too many young people on the roads.”
He will take the students through the equipment in the highway patrol car, including its radars, video and audio equipment, which are used to record everything once police turn their lights and sirens on.
“We’ll go through the public proceedings, how we enforce the road rules and the consequences of failing to comply with the road rules - a loss of licence, a loss of vehicle and sometimes, unfortunately, the loss of life,” Sgt Gruber said.
RYDA district chairman Roger Pearson said students would usually only talk to police when they had done the wrong thing and were pulled over. At the program, they talk to police in a friendly environment, he says.
“They can come up and have a chat with (Sgt Gruber) and look at his equipment and see that they can’t beat it,” he said.
Mr Pearson said this was the Eurobodalla’s fourth RYDA program. He said the students would go through six sessions, some of which are “hands-on”.
“Moruya Fire Brigade will be out there cutting a car up and showing students how they use the equipment they’ve got if they’re trapped in a car.”
There’ll also be two more police officers, and health officials to talk about fatigue, alcohol and drugs, and two victims sharing their stories. He said the interaction and hands-on experience would help reinforce the message.
“In My Wheels (one of the sessions), we’ll have two volunteers taking students around cars, checking the cars and making sure they’re roadworthy.
“Some will be able to get in a car and feel what it’s like to brake from 80km/h to a standing stop.
“We wanted to avoid a classroom situation. It’s out of the school environment.
“This is a basic course students can go along and get something out of it.”