Exploring road safety education for Tasmania’s youth
Our Community Engagement and Events team recently travelled to Adelaide to experience Street Smart High, a powerful youth road safety event run by our sister club, RAA.
Now in its 15th year, the event offers students a deeply impactful look at the realities of road trauma.
The event allows students to witness a simulated road crash scene, complete with emergency first responders, giving them a real-world perspective on what can happen when things go wrong on the road. They also hear emotional testimonials from young people who’ve been directly affected by road trauma and the lasting impact on their families and communities. The event ends with an unmissable message about the fatal five, the leading contributors to road fatalities: distraction, speeding, driving under the influence, not wearing a seatbelt and fatigue. The message is driven home by a striking, five-metre-tall inflatable elephant in the room.
With over 90 per cent of the 12,000 attending students reporting a significant boost in their road safety knowledge, Street Smart High shows how powerful educational programs can be in shaping safer drivers. It was an invaluable experience that has only reinforced our commitment to bringing this kind of road safety education to young Tasmanians, and we’re excited to explore how a similar program could be introduced here in Tasmania