Road safety expo to draw big crowd

Road safety expo to draw big crowd

Dunedin (Tuesday, 8 March 2016) – The realities of a road crash will be driven home at a road safety expo for secondary students held in Dunedin later this month.

About 1700 Year 11 students from across Otago are enrolled to attend the Survivor 2020 Safer Journeys expo, which will be held at the Edgar Centre from 15 - 17 March.

Dunedin City Council Road Safety Advisor Deborah Palmer says, “The purpose of the expo is to educate young people about safety in and around vehicles and to raise road safety awareness.

“The idea is to give students an experience which includes the real life cause and effects of a crash. There will also be interactive workshops for students so they can work out strategies to keep themselves safe on the roads, as drivers or passengers.”

The expo includes a crash scenario and sessions on modified vehicles, speed and environment, alcohol and road safety, and the human cost of road crashes. The information is curriculum based.

“What students take away is a toolkit of strategies to help them make good choices for themselves and their peers when using our roads. This is reflected in our catchphrase ‘Make the right call’.”

The expo involves about 50 staff from a wide range of organisations and businesses, including the DCC, emergency services, the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Dunedin Hospital Emergency Department and Victim Support. The students will also hear from crash survivors and the parent of a crash victim.

The expo is funded by the Transport Agency and co-ordinated by the DCC and the Waitaki District Council.

Mrs Palmer says, “This event will allow young people to make informed choices and ultimately save lives.”

ENDS

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