John Gibbs posted on March 23, 2011 17:22
WHAT IS RYDA?
The RYDA Program is a road safety education program aimed at reducing death and injury amongst young people on Australian roads. The Program targets 16 to 17 year olds who are at the stage of their lives where they start to drive or ride in a vehicle driven by their peers.
RYDA is a community-based initiative of Rotary Clubs, partnering those organisations in our community that have a responsibility for, or interest in, road safety for youth. It has been developed in consultation with relevant Government Departments and is designed to complement and supplement the school curriculum and government road safety messages.
RYDA was established in the northern suburbs of Sydney in 2001 and today over 80% of Year 11 students in that district participate in the program. The RYDA Program has now spread to many other Rotary districts across Australia and by mid 2010 over 150,000 students had attended this life saving road safety education program.
Program Guides
Students are divided into groups and participate in six sessions during the day. Each group is accompanied by a teacher from the school to maintain discipline and a Rotarian volunteer to lead the groups from session to session. Rotarians sit in on each session and experience the day with their student group. This experience not only gives Rotarians an excellent introduction to students from their community but provides many with road safety tips.
Crash Survivor Support
One of the highest impact sessions of the day involves a speaker who has survived a crash and has acquired a traumatic injury such as a brain injury or physical disability. These speakers require assistance with both transport to and from the venue and support during their talk. The Crash Survivor talk runs from 11.30am - 2.00pm each program day. Training is provided.