TAC and Collingwood talk safety with young drivers

29 May 2003

Media Release - 29 May 2003

Collingwood Football Club Vice Captain, Tarkyn Lockyer and Special Projects Manager, Scott Cummings, will today visit Ballarat secondary schools as part of a TAC program to help combat the high levels of fatalities and serious injuries among young drivers.

The Collingwood players will talk to students from both Ballarat junior and senior schools about risk taking and goal setting, and will illustrate these through examples taken from their football careers.

Inexperience, perceived immortality and blatant risk taking are factors that have all contributed to road accidents being the main cause of death in teenagers.

Young people under 25 are three times more likely to be killed or injured than older, more experienced drivers.

The classroom visits and the development of the TAC Help Pack for learner drivers are initiatives that aim to reverse these trends and encourage teenagers to adopt safer driving practices.

Mr Lockyer said that talking to teenagers in an informal manner in the classroom was an effective way to communicate a serious message.

"Our aim is to help these young people understand how important it is, as learner drivers, to gain as much practical driving experience as possible - ideally 120 hours."

"The students seem to respond really well to us, and although we're not there to lecture them, we hope to encourage them to think and talk openly about the choices that they can make and the consequences of their actions."

"It's not just about getting them to think about what could happen to them, it's also about what could happen to their mates."

The visit coincides with Operation Clampdown an intensive enforcement blitz that is currently operating in Ballarat and other regional areas, aimed at reducing the country road toll.

Victoria's road toll currently stands at 154, compared with 173 at the same time last year, a decrease of 11%.

In 2002, 124 people under 25 died on Victorian roads. Almost half of these deaths occurred in rural areas.

Further information:

Georgina Lyell
Tel: 1300 654 329