Young drivers from Melbourne’s west are being given a helping hand to ensure they know how to stay safe when behind the wheel.
Courtney Harman, pictured, is a program leader with Fit2Drive (F2D), an initiative that breaks down the barriers between lecturers and students to help the road safety message sink in.
Ms Harman, 24, has been travelling to high schools throughout the west to arm mainly year 11 students with the knowledge they need to be safer drivers.
“I found out about the program when they came to my university to hold a workshop,” Ms Harman said.
“I was studying teaching and this seemed like it would be a lot of fun but it also had some really good messages.”
Ms Harman said F2D was not about standing in front of students and telling them what to do, a tactic that often had a negative effect.
“Road safety is not seen as cool, which is something that needs to change,” she said.
“It’s not about telling them ‘You will die if you don’t listen to us’, it’s about giving them strategies so they know how to respond in different situations.”
The chairperson of RoadSafe Westgate, which funds F2D, said young drivers had a higher risk of being involved in an accident.
“They comprise a small proportion of licensed drivers yet are substantially more involved and over-represented in road crashes, fatalities and injuries,” Jim Giddings said.
The Victorian Community Road Safety Partnership Program has provided funding to support RoadSafe Westgate in addressing road safety issues throughout the west.
