Launch of 2010 Leighton Contractors Youth Drive Safe Initiative

·        Thank you for giving me the honour to officially launch the Leighton Contractors Youth Drive Safe Initiative here on the Gold Coast. I was very pleased when I was offered the opportunity to not only recognise the great work Leighton Contractors is doing for young driver safety, but also to highlight the importance of young driver education and learning.  Young driver education is one area that is extremely important to the Bligh Government, as the future safety of our roads heavily depends on the training of the thousands of new drivers in Queensland.

·        Following on from the Acting Superintendent (Craig), I think we would all agree that young driver education is a key factor in not only reducing the annual road toll, but also contributes to increased safety on the state’s roads.

·        It's a sad fact that young people are almost twice as likely to be killed in a road crash than any other age group.

·        Becoming a learner driver is a very exciting time, but sometimes this excitement can overshadow the key requirements new drivers need to know in order to drive safely. 

·        Young drivers are most at risk during the first year of their provisional licence, as it takes around three years of solo driving before a young driver’s crash risk is reduced to the same level as a more experienced driver.

·        Therefore, by enabling learner drivers to obtain as much on-road learning experience as possible, in a range of different driving situations, hopefully the fatality and crash rates among young drivers will reduce.

·        In 2007, the Queensland Government introduced the Graduated Licensing System, which included a compulsory 100 hours of driving experience for learner licence drivers under 25 years.

·        While changes to laws, young driver requirements and driving restrictions are an integral part of improving their safety and development, these laws alone cannot reduce the young driver road toll.

·        It is also up to the individual road users and the community to take on the task of being a responsible road user. 

·        The good work by businesses such as Leighton’s, both in the safe roads and now the safe drivers area with the ‘Youth Safe Drive’ initiative will help to improve young driver safety.

·        I was very impressed to learn this year, the ‘Youth Safe Drive’ initiative will provide 625 students with a total of 3, 125 hours of driving tuition. This is five hours of free professional driving tuition for each student involved.

·        I hope the lucky winning students hear today from Benowa State High School, Keebra Park State High School and Southport State High School take full advantage of this great opportunity offered by Leighton’s and learn from the experiences of their qualified instructors. 

·        I encourage all Queensland and Gold Coast learner drivers to register their entries for the program and take advantage of this great opportunity.  The training can also be used towards the 100 hours required for the learner driver’s logbook.

·        Whether holding a learner, provisional or open licence, we are all given the privilege to drive on the roads and must remember not to take it for granted.  Too many times we have seen innocent lives lost due to careless mistakes and unnecessary risks taken while behind the wheel.

·        The ‘Youth Safe Drive’ initiative is a prime example of how everyone in the community can do their part in taking responsibility for safety on the roads.  Together, we can all reduce the number of crashes and help ensure young Queenslanders are here for life.

·        I again thank Leighton Contractors for their commitment to improving road safety for young drivers and officially welcome this great initiative being implemented for the first year on the Gold Coast.

·        Leighton’s have provided a great investment in shaping Queensland’s future, by offering the opportunity for young drivers to further practice and develop their skills on the roads.

·        I encourage other companies to look at following Leighton Contractors’ lead and think about how they too can give back to their communities.

Last changed: Aug 05 2010 at 11:29 AM