Australia, Transport News

Boral delivers RYDA road safety program in Albury-Wodonga

Boral has teamed up with Road Safety Education Limited to deliver a new road safety program in Albury-Wodonga

Boral has announced that approximately 270 year 10 students from three Albury public high schools have taken part in the region’s first RYDA program. 

RYDA is a professionally developed road safety initiative that aims to equip students with the tools, habits and behaviours to stay safe on roads as both drivers and passengers. 

“As one of Australia’s largest suppliers of construction materials, this naturally means we also have a large heavy vehicle footprint and are on roads every day to support deliveries to our customers,” Boral area operations manager Rod Cousin says. 

“We are committed to zero harm and safety procedures, extending to taking responsibility for road safety and better educating drivers and passengers with whom we share the road with.” 

Boral says that approximately 1,200 people are killed and another 44,000 are seriously injured on Australian roads every year. 

Traffic injury is also the biggest killer of Australian children under 15 and the second-biggest killer of all Australians aged between 15 and 24. 

The RYDA program has been professionally developed by learning not-for-profit organisation Road Safety Education Limited (RSE), with the Albury-Wodonga program delivered alongside Boral and hosted by the Rotary Club of Albury. 

“We are proud to provide long-term support of road safety initiatives like the RYDA program and expand this education to the regional community of Albury-Wodonga,” Cousin says. 

It’s important that we educate our future drivers on best practice road safety and how to think and act while driving, in addition to how they can remain safe on our shared roads. 

“Playing an active role in our partnership with RSE is a great experience for us and the next generation of drivers.” 

More than 735,000 young people have participated in the RYDA program through the support of Boral, other corporate partners and governments. Students at Murray, James Fallon and Albury High Schools have now joined them recently. 

“We’re excited to launch the RYDA program in Albury, marking the first one in this inland city,” RSE Head of Marketing and Program Delivery John Elliott says. 

“Albury has a significant presence of trucks on its roads, which provides a great setting for providing youth with the tools and resources to stay safe around them.  

“Our RYDA program promises to be a good experience for novice drivers and passengers, highlighting the unique considerations of sharing the road with heavy vehicles.” 

Boral says it had a heavy vehicle presence at the workshop to help students better understand the varying risks around trucks compared with general motor vehicles. 

It says students heard from a Boral driver on their experiences and knowledge on operating trucks on the road 

Students also had the opportunity to sit in the cabin to understand blind spots, learn about heavy vehicle stopping speeds and the different risks and considerations when sharing a road with trucks.

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