Driver Safety Workshop for Year 10 Cobar High School students at the school. Students were able to watch and participate as casualties in the afternoon’s mock accident scene, where two casualties were rescued from a car crash.
Cobar’s various emergency services organisations came together last week to conduct the now annual Young Driver Safety Workshop at Cobar High School.
This is the 5th year the workshop has been conducted and is targeted at Year 10 students many of whom either have their L or P plate driving licences.
Cobar SES Unit Controller Gordon Hill coordinated the safety workshop and said it was important that young drivers commenced their time on the road fully understanding that any poor choices they make can have adverse consequences for their family members, their friends, themselves and other road users.
“Representatives from the various local emergency services, NSW SES, NSW Police, NSW Fire and Rescue, NSW Ambulance and NSW RFS participated in the workshop passing on to the students vital information about safe driving practices and good choices,” Mr Hill said.
CSA Mine supported the workshop by having a representative on the planning committee and they also met the cost of transporting the rescue response demonstration vehicle to and from the school.
“Local Cobar resident Scott Brydon also participated in the workshop talking candidly to the students about life in a wheelchair and the motorcycle accident that has resulted in him being seriously injured,” Mr Hill said.
He said Cobar emergency services were keen to continue to conduct the Young Driver safety workshops each year to demonstrate to students how they can avoid becoming another road accident statistic.
“Students were told that use of hand held mobile phones while driving, whilst illegal, is fast becoming the biggest cause of road accidents particularly amongst young drivers,” Mr Hill said.
“The day long workshop concluded with a road accident response demonstration which saw two students placed in a badly damaged car and the local emergency services demonstrated how they respond to and manage the removal of casualties from a vehicle involved in a road crash accident.”
Mr Hill said he hoped that a similar safety workshop aimed at young apprentices, particularly those who are required to drive long distances to attend TAFE courses, will be held early next year.
