A MOBILE program that uses virtual reality and other new technology to teach young drivers road safety was launched at Ararat College Friday.
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The Road to Zero regional in-school program is a mobile road safety education complex that will visit schools in regional Victoria so students can learn with the newest technology without having to visit bigger cities.
It is a mobile version of the Road to Zero road safety education complex at Melbourne Museum and will be available cost free to schools located more than two-hours by car from Melbourne.
The program will primarily target students in years nine, 10 and 11 and focuses on the role of speed in crashes, the importance of safety technology in vehicles and safe road infrastructure, as well as human vulnerability and personal risk.
Museums Victoria will deliver the program and Roads Minister Jaala Pulford launched the program.
"What we know is over the last five years young people represent 20 per cent of our fatalities and serious injuries when they're 10 per cent of the drivers," she said.
"That's a terrible over-representation."
Getting this kind of hands-on learning to young drivers is paramount for regional and rural students, said TAC lead director road safety Samantha Cockfield.
"Unfortunately we are about five times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on country roads ... particularly on high speed, 100 kilometre roads - (they) are deadly and we are seeing that play out this year," she said.
Ararat College acting principal Ellie McDougall said the college's students already accessed as many driving programs as they could but this program was a huge "step forward."
"We've always been really passionate about teaching our young people about road safety, particularly as we are in a rural area," she said.
"It is going to make it easier for our school and all the schools in regional areas.
"This program today is a really exciting step forward. It's engaging, the students are emerged in the content and learning about it virtually."
Year 10 student Lana tried out the virtual reality station at the launch.
"It shows you what the future could look like if we all followed the road safety rules," she said.
"It's pretty cool.
"It can help you because it can show you that certain things are like that for a reason."
Ms Pulford said it was important that students take what they learned home and pass it onto parents who might be modelling poor driving behaviour themselves.
"We know as parents how important it is to model good behavior," she said.
"We think about the messages that children have taken home to their parents over the years about smoking, nutrition - young people in families can be very powerful motivators of good community behaviour," she said.
"We definitely encourage the young people who participate in this program to talk about it when they go home. You know, (when parents ask) what did you do in school today? (Students can say) well I learned that if a car hits a pedestrian at 50 kilometres an hour the pedestrian generally doesn't survive.
"Young people have these amazing minds that absorb and learn information ... helping people understand the risks associated with being on our roads as they're learning those technical skills to become good drivers - you just can't put a price on that."
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