AROUND 2000 students from 22 schools will attend three Teenagers Road Accident Group presentations at the Peninsula Community Theatre this month. Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill will be guest speaker on Tuesday 28 July.
The first, on Monday 15 June, will host eight schools and 616 students; the next day (Tuesday) eight schools and 795 students and the third, on Tuesday 28 July, six schools and 589 students.
The message could save their lives.
Project manager Cindy Last said TRAG’s innovative program gives the students an insight into the dangers of modern driving.
Speakers consist of CFA, ambulance and police members, and those who have first-hand experience with road trauma. “Our goal is to raise the awareness of young adults as to their responsibilities when they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle,” she said.
TRAG’s 45-minute presentation targets students in Years 10, 11 and 12. A three-minute video places them at the scene of several serious accidents on the Mornington Peninsula.
An ambulance officer – usually the first to arrive at an accident scene – details the type of devastation he encounters. A CFA firefighter then describes spending sometimes hours cutting open twisted wrecks to release seriously injured victims. A police officer speaks about the ordeal of attending accidents involving young people, the trauma of telling families and friends that their loved one has been killed or injured, and the responsibility that drivers have in ensuring the safety of their passengers, other road users and themselves.
Later, surviving victims and relatives of road accidents tell of the lifelong effect of road trauma.
“We believe that if this program saves one life then we have achieved our goal,” Ms Last said. “We want young people to drive safely and responsibly but, more importantly, to Drive 4 Life.
“The program is very thought provoking and designed to open up many avenues of follow-up work within the curriculum. It is especially relevant to two areas of the Victorian Essential Learning Standard in Health and Physical Education at Level 6 and driver education programs.”
First published in the Mornington News – 9 June 2015
