Kimberley students learn importance of road safety at educational forum in Broome

Kimberley students learnt about the importance of road safety at an educational forum this week. Held at Broome Civic Centre on Wednesday , RAC Project Road Smart featured first-hand accounts from guest speakers and a filmed re-enactment of a serious car crash. The film presented a hyperrealistic scenario and featured real-life paramedics, firefighters and police who demonstrated how they responded to and treated victims of trauma. While not in response to the incident the lessons were timely, coming less than two weeks after a 12-year-old girl was killed in a car crash in Fitzroy Crossing. Guest speaker Robert Pike told the students of his tragic car crash experience, in which he lost three close friends and his own legs from the knee down. “All it takes is a fraction of a second, a small distraction, a moment, that will change your life forever,” he said. “I had friends, I had both my feet, and just like that all those things were gone. Driving requires all your attention, 100 per cent of the time.” Later on, the kids ventured outside to participate in road safety activities with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, WA Police and St John Ambulance. RAC general manager Will Golsby said the event provided a powerful message to young people who were starting their driving journey. “Young people continue to be some of our most vulnerable road users and tragically, the number of 17 to 19-year-olds killed on our roads last year doubled compared to 2019 figures,” he said. Mr Golsby said the event aimed to educate young people in order to prevent them from making bad decisions on the road. “It’s an important opportunity to deliver a crucial message to future drivers in regional WA, that complacency and reckless behaviour behind the wheel can change your life forever.” Happiness Co chief executive Julian Pace also spoke to the children, touching on how to overcome peer pressure and make smarter decisions. “This is about giving them tools to understand how they feel and how their behaviour matters,” he said. “We want to help our youth raise their voices, not so that they can shout, but so they can start to create positive change around peer pressure.” Students from Broome Senior High School, St Mary’s College, One Arm Point Remote Community School and Derby District High School in years 10 to 12 were in attendance.