Boral has sponsored the RYDA program for a third year, helping to teach more than 40,000 Australian high school students about road safety.
The program was developed by Road Safety Education (RSE), a not-for-profit organisation devoted to saving lives by educating young Australians and New Zealanders.
To open Yellow Ribbon National Road Safety Week, more than 150 high schoolers from Geelong Lutheran College, Belmont High School and Saint Ignatius College took part in the program across the Geelong area.
Boral Australia president and chief executive officer Wayne Manners said the program aligns strongly with the company’s responsibilities.
“Boral has a long proud history of supporting the communities where we operate,” Manners said. “Our partnership with RSE is an opportunity to support young people to become safer drivers.”
RYDA reimagines how students should consider road safety and presents them with tools and knowledge for road safety as a driver and a passenger.
The program has become important to Boral as it tackles the issue of road safety surrounding some of the company’s heavier vehicles.
“Boral is committed to achieving Zero Harm across all our operations, including our drivers, on public roads,” Manners said. “We have a strong focus on safety and training for our drivers, but a vast majority of fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles are not caused by the driver of the heavy vehicle.
“That is why we have joined forces with RSE – to play a part in helping young people become safer drivers, which will result in safer roads and hopefully help to save lives.”
RSE chief executive officer and managing director Terry Birss said the more support the program could receive the better, and Boral had played a large part in that.
“Road safety is a shared responsibility and making our roads safer requires the support of organisations such as Boral,” Birss said.
“While road trauma levels have declined over the years, the annual economic cost of road crashes in Australia is estimated at $27 billion, and the social impacts are devastating.”
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