Major parties ignore road safety call

But neither major political party would yesterday commit to making driver safety part of a regular and compulsory lesson.

Driving instructors told The Advertiser they believe schools needed to emphasise the road safety message so beginner drivers were more aware of the dangers they faced.

Their suggestions included:

EXPOSING students to graphic footage of crashes.

TEACHING current road laws.

LESSONS on the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving.

HOW to be a responsible passenger.

TAILORED programs for city and country schools.

ACCESS to a driving simulator.

THE effects and dangers of speeding.

David Franklin, who teaches defensive driving courses at the Transport Training Centre, said education was essential for keeping young drivers safe.

"Without a doubt - it should be taught in schools," he said.

"I believe a lot of students, once they have direct contact with someone who has been in a serious accident, realise they are not bullet proof.

"A graphic video usually brings it home."

Mr Franklin said his organisation's defensive driver course begins with four hours of theory where drivers learn about current road laws and watch a short film on the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving and what can happen to someone not wearing a seatbelt.

Drivers are also taught how to approach a corner, when to brake and how to hold a steering wheel to avoid injury from an airbag.

"I'd very much like to see more driver safety education in schools particularly in regards to road laws," Mr Franklin said.

Safe Roads Driving School instructor David Hocking said it was difficult to know the best way to get the message through to young drivers.

"It seems to be the minority giving the majority a bad reputation," he said.

"The majority of kids I see are pretty mature and level-headed.

"But of course it would be beneficial to get more of this stuff in schools.

"If kids had a better understanding of road rules and safety procedures, it would make my job a hell of a lot easier when it came to teaching them how to drive."

Mr Hocking said some parents spent a great deal of time teaching their children road safety - and others left it all to the instructor.

"I think there should be more driver education in high schools and they need to get at them earlier," he said.

"They should get them used to cars and how they work, the law, things like that.

"It's all beneficial in the long run and it would make my job a lot easier."

Opposition education spokesman David Pisoni said principals and governing councils should have more say in how much driver education their school receives. But he did not say it should be made a compulsory part of the curriculum.

"I think it should be part of the mix and principals should be encouraged to take it on - but the school curriculum is very crowded," Mr Pisoni said.

Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith said yesterday that road safety was already ingrained in the curriculum.

"Road safety is an important part of the school curriculum to year 10 and our additional commitment to road safety education at year 11 will provide an intensive focus right at the time young people are becoming old enough to drive," she said.

RAA education coordinator Ben Haythorpe said there were already many programs available to schools, but often they were bombarded with information.

"Part of the issue is letting schools know it is there and encouraging them to take it up," he said.

Mr Pisoni said schools needed to have more budget flexibility so they could choose to bring in organisations like the RAA to run road safety courses.

"It's about changing attitudes," he said.

"It happened with drink driving.

"People used to brag about how they couldn't remember driving home - now it is shunned to do something so stupid."

Mr Pisoni said students needed to have access to road safety programs in the years before gaining their learners permit.

He said the current focus on year 11 students was too little, too late.

"It might be worth looking at driver simulation in the future as a way of giving kids some idea of the difference between what it feels like to drive on a wet and slippery road or a dry road and what happens when you ignore the speed notification advice on bends," he said.

Mr Pisoni said programs also needed to be tailored to the particular school district.

"A classic example is students at country schools would frequently be driving at high speeds on open roads.

"While in my electorate of Unley, the average speed is about 23km/h.

"Maybe schools in areas like that should have more of a focus on the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving and pedestrian safety."

"Kids should be made aware of the risks involved in driving.

"For example, the dangers of speeding, what can happen when you dont wear a seatbelt, the importance of being a good passenger.

"Kids need to be taught what to do if they are a passenger and they are not comfortable with how the car is being driven.

"A lot of this is about changing attitudes and its not so easily taught in a structured lesson."

He said the RAA's new Keys to Drive program was about changing attitudes, and involved a free driving session for both the learner driver and parents.

Mr Haythorpe said the RAA was also involved in a program to retrain driving instructors about road safety.

The Australian Education Union was supportive of any new education programs that teach students road safety measures.

South Australian president Correna Haythorpe said addressing the road safety issue was a "shared responsibility" but said organisations could work together to enhance driver training in young people.

"The problem you have in schools is there is a number of competing demands in terms of fitting it all in to a very crowded curriculum, it's not always easy," Ms Haythorpe said.

"It's certainly something we'd be supportive of, an increase in road safety education."

She said funding and resources were the two factors hindering schools in increasing driver education programs at present.

Combining with other organisations such as the RAA - which has already developed extensive driver training programs - is one possible solution the union is suggesting.

"We'd like to make sure there are really good driver education programs out there that give young people the skills they need to keep safe on the roads."- WITH CANDICE KELLER