By MATT JOHNSTON
Local road safety initiative ROADwhyz is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Co-creator Michelle Davis is one of the driving forces behind ROADwhyz, and is proud of having reached approximately 40,000 students. “We target teenagers in year 11 and 12, and other at-risk [drivers] – those between the ages of 18 and 25.”
The approach behind ROADwhyz is to make younger drivers think about the consequences of their choices behind the wheel. “We don’t teach them how to drive… we don’t tell them what they should do or how they should do it.
“We just simply say ‘choice and consequence- it’s in your hands. All you have to do is follow the road rules.”
Michelle’s faced her own struggles with the consequences of traffic accidents, having lost her two teenaged sons in 2005. It’s inspired another element of ROADwhyz, where they talk about the consequences for everyone who isn’t in the car when there’s a crash.
“I, as a mother, I try to get them to understand how important their lives are and how much their mother will miss them if they don’t come home.”
ROADwhyz’s message has been impacting on the community, with Michelle being recognised by students four years after workshops. A frequent comment is that the workshops are tough, but they’re important.
Other speakers at the workshops include emergency responders such as paramedics and police officers. While students are often lectured about how to drive on the roads, these first-hand accounts drive home the consequences of drivers’ choices.
Michelle says the workshops are “hard hitting, it’s factual, it’s real. Everybody should watch it.”
Their 10th anniversary is a chance for ROADwhyz to celebrate the significant mile-stone, and reflect on their hopes to remove the over-representation of younger drivers in crash statistics.
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| ROADwhyz Co-creator Michelle Davis, roadwhyz.com |
