A good representation of our members attended the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of RYDA Road Safety Education in Caloundra by Rotary at the Chatswood Golf Club on Friday 23 March.
 
The Chairman of the RYDA Caloundra organising committee is our own Neville Woodforth who leads a group of volunteers from the Rotary Clubs of Caloundra, Caloundra Pacific, Glasshouse Mounrtains and Kawana Waters.
 
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Media Release

 
Celebrating 10 Years of RYDA Caloundra 2009 – 2018
 
Road Safety Education Program
 
An event to celebrate 10 years of the RYDA Caloundra road safety education program.
 
The Rotary clubs of Caloundra, Caloundra Pacific, Glasshouse Mountains and Kawana Waters have been conducting RYDA road safety education programs since 2009, delivering the program to 8,333 students.  The program is reviewed and updated with input from leading road safety experts and aims to produce the best-researched evidence-based road safety education program available for senior secondary school students.
 
RYDA is a one day six session program for year 11 students, conducted at an out of school venue.  Supporting the graduated licensing scheme, the program focuses on the key government ‘big five’ road safety issues of speeding, DUI, fatigue, seatbelts and distractions and the importance of driving as a social responsibility as well as a right.  The program aims for a sharper focus on the main road risks and personal and social factors that make young people more vulnerable.
 
Rotary has received a Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads Community Road Safety Grant to deliver RYDA programs for year 11 students from twelve schools over eight days in 2018.  Rotary also receives support from the Sunshine Coast Council.  The program is free of cost to students to encourage maximum student participation.  Twelve schools attend Rotary RYDA Caloundra programs as follows:
Caloundra State High School; Beerwah State High School; Meridan State College; Chancellor State College; Kawana Waters State College; Siena Catholic College; Unity College; Pacific Lutheran College; Glasshouse Christian College; Caloundra Christian College, Caloundra City Private School and St Columban’s College.
 
Research shows that once young people actually start driving, it is generally too late for attitude and awareness training as they have already developed a strong and often incorrect belief in their own competencies.  RYDA aims to ensure that when young people begin driving, they have already received the best road safety education available.  The program is unique as it aims to influence the attitudes and behaviours of both drivers and passengers before they get their licence.
 
The RYDA Caloundra programs are conducted at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club, Corbould Park, Caloundra.  Programs are coordinated and delivered by four Sunshine Coast Rotary clubs with support from the Queensland and Australian Governments, Sunshine Coast Council, police and local businesses.  Initiated by Rotary in Sydney, the RYDA program provider is Road Safety Education Limited.  BOC is the program’s founding sponsor with the Toyota Community Foundation, Bosch and Bridgestone as major partners.
 
The one day program covers a broad range of topics including Speed & Stopping; Hazards & Distractions; The ‘I’ in Drive and Road Choices, all aimed at influencing the attitudes of young people before they get behind the wheel of a car. Facilitators are all accredited experts in their fields, including driving school instructors and police officers.  Additionally students will have the opportunity to hear from a road accident survivor who has been left with severe life-changing injuries.
 
Road safety education, along with other road safety initiatives, has made a contribution to the reduction in youth road trauma in the past ten years.
 
RYDA equips young people with the knowledge they need to stay safe on our roads as drivers and passengers.