Boral has renewed its focus on heavy vehicle awareness and road safety education through its support of National Road Safety Week and the Ryda road safety program in the Illawarra.
Students from Woonona High School participated in the Ryda program last week, a road safety initiative developed by not-for-profit organisation Road Safety Education Limited (RSE). The program aims to educate young drivers and passengers about safer behaviour on Australian roads.
Boral chief executive officer Matt McKenzie said the company viewed road safety as part of its broader operational responsibility.
“Boral is proud to support National Road Safety Week and continue our long-standing partnership with Road Safety Education through the Ryda program,” McKenzie said.
“With a significant heavy vehicle presence on roads across Australia each day, we recognise the responsibility we have to help improve safety for all road users and to contribute to education that makes a real difference in our communities.”
The initiative comes amid continued concern around Australia’s road toll. According to figures cited by Boral, more than 1,300 people were killed on Australian roads in 2025, representing a 1.7 per cent increase on the previous year.
Boral has partnered with RSE since 2018 and has contributed to the development of a Ryda workshop focused on heavy vehicle awareness. The session examines the operational challenges faced by truck drivers and encourages students to better understand how to safely share roads with heavy vehicles.
As part of the Illawarra program, Boral supplied a heavy vehicle for students to inspect during the workshop. Students also heard directly from a Boral driver about operating trucks on public roads and learned about blind spots and stopping distances from inside the vehicle cabin.
McKenzie said programs such as Ryda help younger people better understand the risks associated with heavy vehicles and road sharing.
“Programs like Ryda are vital in equipping young people with practical knowledge and strategies and habits to make safer choices as drivers and passengers,” he said.
“Our commitment to road safety goes beyond our operations; we remain dedicated to ongoing education and partnerships that create safer roads for everyone.
“By giving students a firsthand understanding of heavy vehicles and the challenges they present, we are helping to build safer behaviours for the future.”
RSE Group chief executive officer Maria Lovelock said the program continued to reach tens of thousands of students nationally each year.
“Each year, the Ryda program reaches tens of thousands of students across the country, helping to build knowledge and strategies that can save lives on our roads,” Lovelock said.
“We commend the many schools that prioritise this learning opportunity for their students and are grateful for the ongoing support of our corporate partners, whose involvement is critical to delivering the program at scale.”
Lovelock said road safety education needed to go beyond vehicle operation and licensing requirements.
“Developing safe young road users requires more than teaching vehicle control,” she said.
“It’s about fostering informed decision-making, responsibility, and respect for shared roads.
“With the support of partners like Boral, we can continue to provide impactful, real-world learning experiences that empower students to make safer choices.
“Together, we are equipping teenagers to make better decisions, reducing risk, and working towards fewer lives lost or seriously injured on our roads.”
The Ryda program has been delivered to more than 780,000 young Australians since 2001, with close to 50,000 students expected to participate this year.
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