Last week at Towac Park, more than 600 young local school students were given lessens that could truly be life-saving.

RYDA (Rotary Young Driver Awareness) is a nation-wide program targeting Year 11 students that looks to equip them with the tools and understanding they need to stay safe on our roads.

“We touch on subject areas that they don't cover when they are learning to drive, said Peter Byrne, local Rotarian and Day Manager for the RYDA Program.

Students were split into groups for the one-day program, which was delivered in partnership with the not-for-profit Road Safety Education Limited. Sessions were run by Rotarian volunteers as well as police and other expert presenters.

“Two of the sessions today are run by police, another by a paramedic and another session is run by an crash victim who talks about the consequences of having an accident as a young person how it has impacted on their life,” said Peter.

“It is full on for the day and it gets them to think about what their responsibilities are on the road and what to be aware of — things of that nature.”

In a lesson valuable for drivers of any age, the students got to see firsthand how just a small increase in speed can have a great impact on stopping distance.

“We demonstrate a car coming at different speeds and just how long it takes to stop a vehicle at 80 kilometres per hour or 60 kilometres per hour and most of them are very surprised at how long the reaction time to stop at certain speeds is,” said Peter.

“And it is particularly very relevant here on county roads, because the speed limit is much higher than in metropolitan areas and so it takes that much longer.

“In NSW the highest number of road deaths and serious accidents involve people aged 17 to 24 and so we are just trying to keep that under control.”