This week, Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas joined ConnectEast Managing Director John Gardiner to celebrate EastLink’s first anniversary at a ceremony for customers and staff at the EastLink Operations Centre.
To celebrate the occasion, Dreena Lawrence, Chairperson of the MPNFL RoadSafety Program announced Phase 2 of an innovative Road Safety Program in partnership with ConnectEast and the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League (MPNFL) to raise awareness amongst young people about the risks and consequences of dangerous driving.
The MPNFL RoadSafety Program in conjunction with EastLink is delivered to the 32 MPNFL football and netball clubs with the assistance of RoadSafe Victoria, the RACV, TAC, local councils and emergency services personnel.
The MPNFL RoadSafety Program delivers messages to young drivers via local football and netball clubs.
Four of the top seven municipalities for road deaths in Victoria are located in or near the EastLink corridor, with drivers aged between 18 and 25 over-represented in road accident statistics.
“The tragic loss of four young lives in Lynbrook in the early hours of Sunday morning reinforces the need for young drivers to be equipped with the information to make good road safety decisions,” said Mr Gardiner.
More than 3,500 football and netball players between the ages of 17 and 18 attend the program sessions annually.
“This program uses football and netball clubs as the vehicle to spread the word – without lecturing – through practical demonstrations about how drink-driving and risk taking can have terrible consequences,” Mr Gardiner said.
Phase 2 of the MPNFL RoadSafety Program will begin on 7 July at the Dromana Football Netball Club.
Under phase 2, representatives from the CFA and SES Road Crash Rescue Team will demonstrate the physical and psychological effects of a vehicle accident on not only the direct victims but also their friends, families and the wider community.
The three-year program also provides positive and useful information to first-time drivers about owning a car. Every participant of the road safety program in the first year aged 18 or under receives a free 12 month RACV membership.
Last Modified on 01/07/2009 13:49