25 Jul 2017
A Laburnum Primary School student’s idea to save lives on the roads has gained the attention of a world leading vehicle safety company and the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan today met Laburnum student Banjo and his grade six classmates at Bosch Australia’s Melbourne headquarters.
The visit was arranged after Banjo, 11, wrote to the Transport Accident Commission with an idea for new technology to combat fatigue and road rage-related injuries.
Banjo and 26 schoolmates were given a rare glimpse of Bosch’s state-of-the-art Melbourne facility, where some of the vehicle safety technologies that will help Victoria achieve its Towards Zero vision are under development.
Banjo joined Mr Donnellan for a ride in the first Australian-built highly automated car, developed under a partnership between Bosch and the Labor Government.
Banjo’s potentially life-saving idea involves installing sensors in a vehicle’s steering wheel to detect changes in a person’s pulse rate, indicating they may be angry or tired.
The sensors would trigger responses to calm a driver or alert them when they are at risk of fatigue-related crash.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan
“Seeing someone engage in road safety at such a young age is really heartening as it shows a new generation of Victorians are already thinking about how they can play a part in a safer future on our roads.”
“I think we can all take a leaf out of Banjo’s book and ask ourselves how we are each personally contributing to road safety.”
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