Young drivers face the reality of drunk driving

Tauranga Girls' College student Nishat Khan interacts with the Red Cross display, one of many apart of the Blue Light Safer Young Driver Expo. Photos: Sam Gardner

Young drivers are facing the consequences of drunk driving at this year's Blue Light Safer Young Driver Expo.

About 2500 year 11 students from the Western Bay of Plenty have been invited along to the expo, which is running this week at Classic Flyers Museum.

Te Aranui Youth Trust spokesperson Tanya Grimstone says the focus of the expo is the ‘fatal five', which identifies the key causes behind crashes.

'Tragically, vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death and injury among young people under 25.

'Drugs and alcohol, inattention, inexperience, speed and restraints are the top five factors contributing to fatal and serious crashes.

'In 2016 young drivers aged 15–24 were involved in 86 fatal traffic crashes, 665 serious injury crashes and 2,653 minor injury crashes,” says Tanya.

'Alcohol, drugs and speed have been identified as factors contributing to the crash in about 49 per cent of these young drivers involved in fatal crashes.

'Young drivers are over twice as likely to have speed or alcohol as a factor than drivers over the age of 25.”

Tamati Paul is living with the disabilities he received in a head-on crash with a drunk driver and is a strong advocate for safe driving.

Mount Maunganui College and Tauranga Girls' College are some of many schools who have participated in the expo so far.

Speakers include Tamati Paul, who is living with the disabilities he received in a head-on crash with a drunk driver, alongside presentations and interactive displays by the services who get called to accidents including, Police, Fire, Red Cross and Tauranga City Council.

'Students will have the opportunity to learn more about the graduated licencing scheme, what happens in a road crash, hear real life stories, and learn the effects of alcohol on their young bodies and brains,” says Tanya.

'This expo is aimed at providing these students with information about all of the possible consequences for making unsafe decisions on the road, both as a driver and passenger of a vehicle.

'Te Aranui Youth Trust is proud to support this Blue Light initiative and would like to thank TECT for their generous sponsorship of this event as well as Western Bay of Plenty District Council for assistance with transport.”

A driving simulator experience at yesterday's expo.

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2 comments

Young Drivers

Posted on 08-06-2018 08:46 | By LyricalSoul

What a great idea, & thank you for making this expo available. I still think the driving age is too low but it is great to see you are doing something about it.


Dummy

Posted on 08-06-2018 10:25 | By maildrop

I thought Larry Baldock had been a bit quiet this week. Good to see him being of use at last.


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