Year 12 students at Park Ridge State High School have been using a driving simulator for road safety as part of the new 2n2 education package.
Browns Plains Police, Springwood Road Policing Unit and the Fatality Free Friday organisation have teamed up to provide the education package reminding teens to think two eyes on the road and two hands on the wheel.
The presentation and driving simulator involved police and a member from Fatality Free Friday attending with students having the chance to share their experiences and have a go at controlling the simulator.
The students became aware of the issues associated with the law and using the phones while driving, combined with police officers experiences when advising family members of the outcome of road related incidents.
The sessions were organised by Park Ridge State High School adopt-a-cop senior constable Nick Edwards who said prevention is always preferred.
“There is nothing better than preventing an offence rather than detecting an offence,” he said.
“I hope the students adhere to the message which will lighten the burden on the community with respect to dealing with the devastation that can result from using a mobile phone whilst driving and not having the attention on the road.”
Students took control and quickly established they needed to “drive 2n2” at all times to control the vehicle.
Park Ridge High School work education transition officer Wendy Howard said the training was a success.
“It was amazing to see how effective this has been, the students really seemed to take it all in,” she said.
“They are the next wave of p-platers from the school to be on the road.”
Springwood Road Policing Unit senior constable Tony Fishburn said he really enjoyed working with the students.
“This is one of the best interactive packages to be developed and it is a pleasure to get the message across to the students in an open forum,” he said.
“They were enthusiastic and received the message with a great understanding of the legal ramifications of using the phone while driving.”
The students were also informed about a mobile phone application called Road Mode.
The app has been developed by the VicRoads for Android devices.
When this app is activated and a call or message is received, it is answered with an automated message.
When a destination is reached the driver can disable the app to return texts and calls.
The received texts and calls do not cause the phone to react, so the user has no idea they have missed a call or text, eliminating any distraction from the phone.
