Constable Emma Montgomery, Kaitlyn Stevenson, Constable Cooper Crouch-McKinnon and Sam Hargraves during the filming of the crash scenario.
The horrors of a vehicle accident will confront students when the screening of this year’s Youth Driver Education Program starts next month.
Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils will be hosting an official screening of the NOT A STATISTIC! Youth Driver Education Program video on Tuesday, 11th October.
“This year’s project is a little different from previous years,” said the councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer Melanie Suitor.
“Like so many events, we have experienced two years of COVID disruption. This year we made the decision to film the crash scenario, which is usually the live mock crash demonstration, to provide us with a contingency for future programs. The video will also allow us to train new actors and could be used in other areas across the region.”
The youth actors involved in this year’s program, local emergency services, Councillors, council staff and invited guests will attend the official screening, which will be the first time the video has been viewed publicly.
Ten local high schools will take part in the program over three weeks, starting on 17th October.
“Year 10 students from our local high schools (and Year 9 or 11 in some of the smaller schools) will be taking part in the program, which includes a pre-lesson, the video and a follow-up lesson. “The pre-lesson provides information about the licensing system, licence conditions, common P plate offences and random breath/drug testing.
“The follow-up lesson will provide students with the opportunity to ask us questions about the crash scenario and we’ll also provide them with additional information about the Emergency+ app, car safety ratings and tips on being a safe passenger,” Melanie said.
The NOT A STATISTIC! Youth Driver Education Program has been running since 2009, during that time crashes on local roads that involved a young driver (17 – 25 years old) have decreased 27%.