The Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) Safety Truck is taking center stage as part of the Deniliquin driver education week that runs from 9 to 13 December.
Currently, the ATA Safety Truck is stationed at Deniliquin High School, with students getting a close up view of the road via the truck. The truck is part of a program that includes sessions on first aid, driver training and what happens in the aftermath of a crash.
“We want our students to develop their driving skills, learn how to share the road safely and understand the consequences of the choices they make when they get behind the wheel,” said Jenny Fellows, Deniliquin High School driver education Committee Chair.
“The ATA Safety Truck is a fantastic demonstration for the students. We get them right up in the cab of the truck to show them the size of the vehicle and where the blind spots are.
“To really get the point across, we park a bus right behind the truck and then a car behind that – neither of these vehicles can be seen from the driver’s seat. Losing a whole bus makes students aware of just how important it is to give heavy vehicles a bit of space and stay out of their blind spots.”
According to Fellows, the highlight of the driver education week is a mock accident, where wrecked cars are set up as though a collision.
“We put a couple of students in the cars and go through how the situation would develop after the accident – the ambulance, police, VRA and fire brigade come out and demonstrate how they remove people from a car if they’re trapped after an accident,” she said.
“We have some fairly strong reactions from the students. But if, at the end of it, we have just one young driver who delays for a second or two before a dangerous situation and decides ‘no, I won’t do that’ – then we’ve got it right.”
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