Sometimes it’s a matter of educating parents too.

That was one of the messages at last week’s Rotary Youth Driving Awareness Program, when dozens of senior students from Cowra, Canowindra and Grenfell high schools converged on the Cowra airport for a program aimed at reducing the representation of young drivers amongst accident statistics.

It is a community-based initiative of Rotary Clubs, partnering organisations that have a responsibility for, or interest in, road safety for youth.

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.

They work with driving instructors, police and other similar professionals and included amongst the theory was a ride in a highway patrol car, slamming its brakes on at various speeds in a graphic representation of braking distances.

It wasn’t just the disparity of braking distances from 60 to 80 kilometres an hour that shocked students, but the impact of the sudden braking on themselves.

“They were amazed at the pressure they put on their seat belts,” explained Senior Constable Chris Pethick, one of the Highway Patrol officers involved in the course.

In fact the impact was so great the car’s brake pads had to be replaced after the day.

Another professional involved on the day, driving instructor Matthew Irvine, stressed it wasn’t just about the attitude of the young adults, but also their parents, they needed to work on.

He was talking in response to complaints from parents 100 plus hours of Log Book requirements was too onerous.

“The more experience they gain from driving themselves under the Logbook regime,

the more experienced they will be as P Platers,” Mr Irvine said.

“It’s only 100 hours, plus 20 night time hours, over 12 months, whereas before it was 50 hours in six months. Do the Maths and it’s not that different. Nor will it really slow you down, especially when you are driving in town speed limits.”

Jill Dunk, a Cowra high School teacher supervising the students on the day agreed, sharing her recent experience of driving to Sydney recently with her Learner driver daughter.

“On a trip to Sydney, driving at her 80 kilometres an hour limit, added only an extra 15 minutes to the trip, but saved us a fortune in petrol,” she said.

“Once you hit Lithgow, its mainly 80 anyhow.”