Mossman Rotary Club is conducting a driver awareness course for local high school students this coming Friday 17th May at Mossman Showgrounds.

Some sixty students (Grade 11/12) will be attending this coming Friday, May 17th.  The day is comprised of six sessions:

1.     Stopping Distances
2.     Hazards, Distractions & Risks
3.     Plan B: Alcohol, Drugs & Fatigue
4.     Road Choices
5.     Crash Survivor
6.     My Wheels

Rotarians will join with local Police, Teachers, ATODS, & Driving Instructor to present the day which aims to make our newest drivers safer on our roads.

Sessions will commence at 9.15am and finish at 2.30pm.

Mossman Rotary has, in past years, paid to send the students to Cairns to participate in these courses, but this year they are having a go at running one themselves.

Organisers hope the locals can come along and cover this “first” for our area. (Best time would probably be between 10.00 – 11.00 am if that suits)

The Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) Program is a community road safety initiative that is co-ordinated by Rotary Clubs in Australia and New Zealand to deliver practical road safety information targeting “attitude and awareness” of young drivers and passengers.

The RYDA content has been developed in consultation with road safety experts and relevant government agencies and delivers an integrated and powerful road safety education program to young people at the beginning of their driving lives.

The core objectives of the RYDA Program are to:
• Supply a well researched, evidence-based road safety education resource consistent with best practice to secondary schools to be used in conjunction with,and as assistance to, the school curriculum;
• Establish in students a positive attitude to responsible motoring;
• Increase awareness in students of the causes of road crashes and supply practical strategies for avoiding involvement;
• Create an understanding through the school community to the broader community that road safety is a community problem and that we have an individual and collective responsibility for the safety, health and security of each other.

Commencing in the year 2001 the RYDA Program has been established to enable Rotary Clubs to provide a respected, valued and safe road safety education program.

RYDA has grown into the largest road safety education program for senior high school students and is conducted at over 60 venues located in most major cities and regional centres.

Over 200,000 students have now attended RYDA since establishment and currently over 45,000 students attend RYDA each year.

More information is available at www.rse.org.au