A new addition to the BRAKE road safety program will be coming into effect as of term one next year to better prepare young Queenslanders for rural roads.
Recent statistics have shown that nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of Queensland road accidents occur on regional and rural roads despite only 30 per cent of Australians living in these areas.
Drivers between the ages of 16 to 25 are the most vulnerable to being involved in road accidents because of their lack of experience behind the wheel.
In light of these morbid statistics, a regional and rural road safety course is being added to BRAKE online program.
BRAKE is an online road safety education program which has been delivered in classrooms all across Queensland for the last 15 years.
BRAKE Driver Awareness chief operating officer John Duncan said this new module will walk students through ‘the mental processes of driving’.
“(Teenagers’) brains are still developing and they can confuse danger and pleasure, so we’re bringing in all of these mental tools to help young people get better prepared for the roads because within the first two to three years, they’re the most at risk of crashing,” Mr Duncan said.
“We can have car safety upgrades, we can have infrastructure upgrades, and these are all so vital to road safety, but the truth of the matter is that the human decision making is what leads to crashes.”
Designed for students who have, or are preparing to apply for their learner’s license, the online program allows teachers to integrate road safety lessons into regular classroom settings, with topics including how to share the road with trucks and other potential hazards and risks for inexperienced drivers.
“When it comes to people’s attitudes to rural driving, there’s the assumption that they can get away with risky driving behaviours and it just increases the likelihood of crashing,” Mr Duncan said.
“We really want to empower our young people to make the correct decisions (on the road) which goes to passengers in the car because in rural areas, you don’t have Ubers or taxis, so they really need to have a plan A, B and C when they go out.
“The best way to stop a driver driving badly is to stop it at the root cause and that’s at the start.”
