RAC Bstreetsmart Excursion
Main Takeaways from the Excursion
The most significant message that I took from the RAC bstreetsmart excursion was that being reckless puts yourself at a high risk of getting involved in a car accident. Everyone who is reckless is at risk, despite many teens believing that a car crash will never happen to them. Even doing something that you may consider small and unimportant, such as checking your phone for a second or drinking over the limit, has led to countless crashes, where victims are left deceased, seriously hurt with injuries that will affect them for the rest of their life, or with emotional trauma from the event. We are not invincible, and these things happen. However, the program aims to reduce the number of fatalities and those seriously injured by lowering the crash rate among teenagers, especially p platers. They hope that all of us go home understanding that drunk driving, driving under the influence, driving while tired, checking a phone, not wearing a seatbelt and speeding is never worth it.
This was enforced by having people who were in a car crash in their teenage years and haven’t been the same since. Both of them told us how they had regretted their unsafe choices and hadn’t been the same since. Robert Pike told us his story, about how the car aquaplaned due to travelling at high speeds through a puddle, causing the vehicle the crash into a tree and split in half. Robert lost three of his friends and lost both of his legs below the knee. Konner Ruru was also part of a car crash. He was in a car with a driver who was over the limit and was not wearing a seatbelt. He was left quadriplegic.
Another main takeaway was how one crash can affect so many lives. People who are seriously injured may have to change their entire lifestyles, and potentially live with it for the rest of their life. People may experience emotional distress from being involved in a crash, or even losing a friend or family member. Any person close to those involved in the crash is also likely to experience trauma related to losing a loved one. The driver of the car can face jail time, fines and restrictions on using and obtaining their licence, especially if they are found guilty of engaging in risky and illegal behaviour. Insurance on the car may also not be valid, especially if the driver was engaging in illegal behaviour, which creates large costs for the owner. It is especially devastating when the negative effects on so many people’s lives could have been avoided by people being safe on the road.
The Advice I Would Give To Other Young Drivers
One piece of advice that I would give to young drivers is to be aware of the risks of making risky decisions as a driver or passengers. Understand the potential consequences, and use this knowledge to help your decision-making in a situation where you are putting yourself at risk. Especially understanding the consequences for not only yourself but the wider community, and those you spend your time with.
I would also give young drivers the advice that they are not invincible, and crashes can happen to anyone, especially so if you are making a decision that makes your driving more unsafe.
Pledge I Will Commit To When I Start Driving
When I start driving, I pledge to always think about my decision before I act upon them, and access possible outcomes and risks. I pledge to be a safe driver, by not using my mobile phone while driving, driving while under the influence of alcohol and not driving tired, prioritising both my own and other drivers’ safety on the road.
Why Will I Commit to This?
I pick these things to commit to as they are some of the main causes of accidents among younger drivers, and these incidents could be prevented by thinking about the potential consequences of making impulse decisions.
How Will I Keep These Commitments?
I will stick to these commitments by evaluating how able I am to drive, such as how tired I may be, and deciding whether or not I pose a potential risk on the road. If I decide that I am not in a state to drive, alternative methods such as taking a life with someone who is fine to drive, or taking various forms of public transport would be used to get to my destination. If I deem myself fine to go, I will make sure that I am constantly aware of my surroundings and potential risks, as well as keep my phone off and in a space where it will not pose a distraction.
Road Safety Campaign
Aim of Campaign
As a result of this campaign, I would hope to increase awareness of the negative effects driving without enough sleep can have on one’s safety. As sleep is often something that is taken for granted, especially by teenagers who have busy schedules and commitments that leave limited time to sleep, I hope that the importance of not driving tired gets across to the audience. From this, I hope that this would result in fewer teens deciding to drive while fatigued, or people more quickly picking up the signs that they are sleep-deprived and taking relevant action to stay safe. If this occurs, it should decrease the number of car crashes among teens, and a reduction of fatalities and injuries due to a higher level of attentiveness.
Medium Used
In order to reach the most young people, and deliver the message in a way that would most likely stay with them, the message would be delivered through both a poster and a social media post. Posters are often used, as they can be eye-catching, contain necessary information and help to raise awareness. However, many young people are also online and spend a significant amount of time on these apps. Using these to spread the campaign could be more effective at reaching a wider audience
Posters
Social Media Post
