Hundreds of secondary students from schools in the Bega Valley, Cooma-Monaro and as far as Mallacoota came to the Sapphire Kart Club Track near Bega in May to learn about driver and road safety.
The one-day workshops were part of the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness or RYDA Program that aims to empower young people to make good choices on the roads. It gives students the tools, habits and motivation to be safe on the roads as both drivers and passengers.
Police, Fire and Rescue, crash survivors and others gave presentations during the day and on-road practical demonstrations that showed how far a car travels after sudden braking were often a surprise for the students.
Eric Johnston of Bega Rotary has been running these programs now for 17 years and is to be commended for his unflagging commitment.
