Dr Bridie and Mr Neville Woodforth, RYDA Caloundra Coordinator
In February Dr Bridie and her team at the Adolescent Risk Research Unit attended the RYDA program in Caloundra, here on the Sunshine Coast. RYDA is a one day, six session road safety education program conducted at an out-of-school venue for senior secondary school students across Australia and New Zealand. Rotary Clubs coordinate, obtain funding, and deliver the programs with Road Safety Education Limited as the program provider. The RYDA program compliments and reinforces government and community road safety efforts and plays a critical role in filling the gaps in road safety education for students. The program supports the graduated licensing scheme and focuses on the fatal five road safety issues of speeding, drink/drug driving, fatigue, seatbelts and distractions.
Source: CADROSA newsletter March 2018
Dr Bridie also shared some more amazing news: On Friday 23 March Rotary Caloundra hosted the 10 year celebration of the RYDA program on the Sunshine Coast. I was delighted to be invited to present the Keynote Address at this event, sharing my reflections on the RYDA program specifically, and on road safety more generally (Note the shark slippers I am wearing: While many people are galeophobes, rarely do people understand that using the road as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, or driver/passenger of a motor vehicle is a much greater risk to their health and wellbeing, compared to swimming in an ocean, the natural habitat of sharks).
Starting with just one school and one senior class, 2019 will see RYDA reach its 10,000th teen here on the Sunshine Coast. As you will see in the newsletter, RYDA is road safety education program for senior secondary school students. I and the ARRU team attend a variety of RYDA events, and I particularly relish the opportunity to provide the opening and closing speeches. This is the time to engage with the students, and the teachers! Education, enforcement, and engineering-based interventions will not achieve their best possible outcome if our target – adolescents – are not engaged!
Dr Bridie and RYDA Caloundra Coordinator Mr Neville Woodforth (left), Mr Stuart Gardner, Department of Transport and Main Roads (one of the funders of the RYDA activities) (centre), and Mr Peter Hannah, Coastwide Driving School (one of the driving instructors demonstrating vehicle safety and stopping distances) (right).