Fire services role in an all of community response targeting young drivers
Keywords: Education
ARSRPE
Submission Date: 2008
Abstract
Young and novice drivers comprise only a small proportion of licensed drivers but are over represented in fatalities and injuries related to crashes on our roads. As the authorised road accident rescue agencies in Victoria, Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) play a key role in emergency response. As a result fire services have a clear understanding of the very real cost of road crashes and a role to play in injury prevention.
Due to their road rescue responsibilities MFB/CFA received frequent requests to deliver road safety information from secondary schools and agencies involved in the delivery of services to young people. Whilst keen to make a positive contribution to the improvement of road safety amongst young and novice drivers and their passengers the delivery was ad hoc. Also of concern was that strategies used to convey information were not age appropriate, may have relied on shock tactics and did not reflect current good teaching practice.