Year 12 Wairarapa College students at the RYDA programme yesterday. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
ELISA VORSTER
An inspirational speech by Trevor Durry yesterday is just one part of a large programme presented to students across the region, in what Road Safety Education describes as “a potentially lifesaving road safety education programme”.
Wairarapa Road Safety council manager Bruce Pauling said the RYDA programme was more than just telling the students what they should be doing on the roads.
“It’s about presenting scenarios and risks to both drivers and passengers, and empowering them to understand they have the power to come up with their own strategies,” he said.
“It’s making them think rather than being lectured to.”
The RYDA programme is a community-based initiative coordinated through local Rotary Clubs to help make our roads safer.
The students involved take part in a day filled with interactive workshops, including a demonstration from Waggs Holden to show first-hand the relation between speed and stopping distances.
South Wairarapa mayor Viv Napier also went along to some of the day’s events, saying education about driver safety which is different to regular driving lessons was very important.
“They are with their peers and are all hearing the same message.”
She said it was a case of “the more the better” when it came to providing students with way of making choices to prevent accidents.
Road Safety Education programme manager Maria Lovelock said the programme aimed to provide students with tools for better planning and decision-making.
“We believe this programme is contributing to saving young people’s lives on the roads,” she said.
“We applaud schools for committing to this educational excursion for their students.”
