By JESSE GRAHAM
PARAMEDIC and Yarra Ranges mayor, Jason Callanan, is asking young drivers to think of the consequences of bad driving behaviour, following a road safety forum in Lilydale.
The Road Safety Forum, run by RoadWHYZ Victoria, was held at Mount Lilydale Mercy College on Wednesday, 23 March, bringing about 30 young people and their parents to the school’s hall.
Cr Callanan, who is also RoadWHYZ Victoria’s director, said he opened the evening, and spoke about what happened when paramedics were called out to road crashes, and crashes he had personally attended.
Former Major Collision Investigation Unit (MCIU) Sergeant, Geoff Exton, then spoke about his role in investigating serious crashes and road deaths, and about the seriousness of culpable driving offences.
“You can get 20 years for killing a person in a car, and for a lot of people, that’s their life,” Cr Callanan said.
“He also explained some of the consequences, gave a good insight into how police investigated, and explained to them exactly how they were able to find out how people moved inside a car, the speed they were doing, the force of impact.”
James Wood then spoke to the attendees about how he crashed a truck, rolling down an embankment, after going too quickly and not wearing a seatbelt – and ended up permanently confined to a wheelchair.
“So he talked about the ongoing issues he had, the restricted freedom we all take for granted – hopping on a pushbike, getting on a plane,” Cr Callanan said.
A nurse, Julie Crowley, then explained basic life support skills that the young drivers could use, if they found themselves in a crash, or coming across one.
Cr Callanan said that Ms Crowley went through the DRABC (Danger, Respond, Airway, Breathing, Circulation) first aid resuscitation process.
He said the event was not to scold young drivers for bad behaviour, but to teach them about what could go wrong, and how it affected people’s lives.
Static displays by Yarra Ranges Council, METIC, Australian First Aid, SES and CFA were also at the forum for the young drivers to look at.
Though Cr Callanan said the attendance for the event was lower than expected, he said he hoped that young drivers would take “one thing” away from the evening, which could potentially save lives.
“I asked the parents and the young drivers to take one thing away … pick one thing out of the program tonight, and said to them that ‘Actions change attitudes quicker than attitudes change actions’,” he said.
“They’ll remember a bit of skill from the CPR side of things, or they just help a mate by not allowing them to drive if they think they’re drunk, or telling them to put their seatbelt on – that one thing could potentially save the lives of not just them, but others as well.”
Casey MP, Tony Smith, partnered with Cr Callanan to run the evening, and congratulated the team on their “very powerful presentations”.
“It was an eye-opening night,” he said.
“The young drivers and their parents who attended were incredibly engaged and left with extremely valuable information.”
The Road Safety Forum was held just before the beginning of the Easter long weekend, which sees police ramp up road safety awareness, due to an increased number of fatalities and crashes over the four-day weekend.
Cr Callanan said that drivers of all ages should be aware of fatigue and make stops and rest-breaks on long journeys, as well as swapping drivers.
“A half-hour extra in your trip to get somewhere isn’t going to be the end of the world, really,” he said.
“However, if your child dies in the car – for everybody that has kids, that’s the end of the world for them.”
He said that RoadWHYZ also runs presentations for schools. For more information, email info@roadwhyzvic.com.au or visit www.roadwhyzvic.com.au.
