A driver safety school has graduated its 250,000th student.

The remarkable contribution to road safety was celebrated at a ceremony at Chandler.

Myles McGuire reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Year 11 student Jasmin Gregory today became the 250,000th graduate of the RYDA driver safety program.

The workshops include alcohol education classes, as well as practical demonstrations.

The students also have the opportunity to hear stories of crash survivors.

Tegan Crick is 22-years-old and has been in a wheelchair for five years.

Tegan Crick, Accident Survivor: “Don’t do stupid things, I guess, like myself. I could have sat in a seat, put a seatbelt on. I was 17 at the time. I should have known this. But I didn’t.”

For students, it’s these true stories that often have the most impact.

Jasmin Gregory, Student: “It really hits home that it is real and these statistics are real and it’s not just someone, it’s not someone on TV or someone that you’ll never meet. It’s someone that you know and someone who lived, I guess.”

Drivers between 17 and 25 make up one quarter of the road toll in Australia, despite being only 15 per cent of the population.

Greg Rapo, RYDA: “When they change from being that L-Plate driver, the safest driver on the road; the next day they put a P-Plate on and become the most dangerous driver on the road. And that is simply because of the attitude.”

With school holidays approaching fast it’s vital we slow down and think about how we act on the roads.

Thanks to RYDA, 250,000 young people will be doing exactly that.

Myles McGuire, QUT News.