From Monday 9 to Friday 13 December, students at Deniliquin High School will get a truckie’s eye view of the road in the ATA Safety Truck for the Deniliquin driver education week.

Deniliquin High School driver education Committee Chair Jenny Fellows said the program included 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,” Mrs Fellows said.

The Australian Trucking Association’s travelling road safety exhibition, the Safety Truck, forms an important part of the week.

“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,” Mrs Fellows said.

“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.

“We also discuss how much longer it takes a heavy vehicle to stop, and how important it is not to cut into the space in front of a truck.”

A highlight of the driver education week is a mock accident, where wrecked cars are set up as though a collision has just occurred.

“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,” Mrs Fellows 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.”

“We’re very grateful to all our supporters for helping run this event each year, and we would love to share our ideas if other schools would like to take part in the future.”

The Safety Truck travels around Australia visiting festivals, shows and other community events. For more information or to request a Safety Truck visit, go to www.safetytruck.com.au.