Moama Anglican Grammar School’s second-ever Road Smarts Program took place from Monday, December 2 to Monday, December 9.
The program is a comprehensive workshop that teaches Year 10 students about road safety and responsible driving.
Year 10 co-ordinator Amy Lane, who organised the program, said its aim was to give students practical skills and knowledge to become safer drivers.
“I’ve been teaching for over 20 years, and I’ve been to a few too many funerals for ex-students and students where they’ve been involved in a car incident,” Ms Lane said.
The six-day program began with a mock accident staged by first responders who re-enacted the process of rescuing crash victims from a written-off car donated by Double B Metals.
Victoria and NSW Police, Ambulance Victoria, Marine Rescue NSW and NSWFRS gave talks on their services, and demonstrated CPR, flare-usage, and firefighting equipment.
On Tuesday, students were put into working groups at Moama Football Netball Club grounds and participated in multiple workshops.
Steering the Future, a grassroots initiative sponsored by multiple organisations, which educates young drivers on road safety, particularly around the transport and trucking industry, held sessions for students.
Its trailer acts as a mobile classroom, fitted out with driving simulators that teach students about road rules, along with presentations on safe overtaking, stopping distances and driver fatigue.
Craig Forsyth, a founding member of the organisation, said a lack of education about truck safety when learner drivers got their licence was a “huge problem” for the industry.
Graham Thomson Motors supplied a monitor and flat-nose truck for students to interact with, demonstrating blind spots first-hand, and Alina Hawkins of LRTAV gave a talk about truck safety.
Toyota Australia and Echuca held car maintenance lessons and displayed modern vehicle innovations, while members of the Rich River Rod & Custom Club demonstrated the progress made in car technology.
“The kids absolutely loved that. They could actually see how far safety has come from back then to now,” Ms Lane said.
On Wednesday, farm safety discussions were held by SafeWork NSW’s Spencer Rich, and first aid modules, along with talks on anti-hoon laws, were given by Colette Forsyth of Driving the Future.
A defensive driving course was held at Heartland Raceway on Thursday and Friday, with around 20 students and their parents in attendance per day.
It began with a presentation by an Australian Driving Institute instructor who discussed air bag safety and driver position, and gave an introduction to defensive driving.
Learner drivers and their guardians then put the theory to work, tackling traffic cone slalom and brake test activities on the speedway.
Students alternated between the course and Echuca Police Station where Shane Roberts demonstrated the process of being booked for a driving offence.
Magistrate registrar Caitlyn Edge gave students a tour of Echuca Magistrates’ Court and explained the courtroom process.
On Friday, activities concluded with an impactful speech by John Maher of Carmen’s Legacy, and students showing adverts they created on road safety at the school’s graduation gala.
The final day saw students complete a Certificate II in First Aid, rounding out the six-day program.
Ms Lane, who will be leaving the school at the end of this year, said the program was extremely successful, and would like to replicate it in other schools.
While difficult to quantify its impact, Ms Lane said saving even one life was the ideal outcome of the program.
She has received a raft of positive feedback from sponsors and parents, and has heard students begin discussions on their safety with one another.
“Coming up to Christmas where, as we know, there’s more and more accidents happening, if we can reduce that somewhat, then all the better I reckon,” Ms Lane said.
“I’m just hoping that this will run in 2025. I’m hoping other schools will get in contact with me to see how the might be able to implement something similar.”