Hundreds of high school students from around the South West region of Western Australia gathered in Bunbury last week for the annual Youth Road Safety Expo.
Students were given an insider’s perspective of road trauma with looks at emergency service equipment and processes relating to traffic crashes.
The expo, which has become a major annual education event in the region, was organised by St John Ambulance regional training and service coordinator Annette Mateljan. St John WA invited local high schools to send their students to witness a road crash simulation. The event was designed to inform teenagers about the dangers of inattentive driving and provide them with some graphic and confronting examples of the consequences of driving while distracted.
“There’s a bit of shock factor,” Mrs. Mateljan said. She’s confident that the training combined with the evocative simulation would deliver real and meaningful results. She added, “We hear road safety messages regularly, but often that doesn’t have the same impact as actually seeing the consequences played out before your eyes.”
In Western Australia in 2017, 28 people were killed in crashes where the WA Police Force believed inattention at the wheel was a factor. While you’re four times more likely to crash if you’re using a mobile phone while driving, too many drivers are risking fatal consequences by looking down at their phones. “Just two seconds of inattention behind the wheel is the same as driving blind for 33 metres. This is one of many messages we’re hoping students take away from the event,” Annette said about the Youth Road Safety Expo.
On the day of the expo, Students started by browsing a range of indoor and outdoor displays from various road safety groups before the RAC Rescue Helicopter landed on the Pat Usher Foreshore. They then viewed a series of extraction demonstrations by the Bunbury Fire Brigade before the students went into the Stage One Theatre for the simulated crash exercise. A Q and A session followed, giving students the opportunity to interact with career paramedics, traffic officers, DFES officers and serious crash victims.
“Many of these students will soon be at an age when they’ll be able to drive, which is why it’s so important they recognise what can and does happen when drivers become distracted,” Mrs. Mateljan said. She added, “By showing students what paramedics, police, DFES and first responders see at the scene of a serious crash, we’re ultimately hoping they will think twice before reaching for their phones while driving.” Students agreed that the day was a real eye opener.
The event is supported by the Road Safety Commission, City of Bunbury RoadWise, Qube Ports and Bulk, RAC Western Australia, DFES, WA Police, Investing in Our Youth, Industry Road Safety Alliance South West, Road Trauma Support WA and SDERA.
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