What do you do when you see the flashing lights of emergency services up ahead or in your rear vision mirror?
A bunch of young Richmond drivers learnt exactly what to do one evening earlier this month at Moturoa/Rabbit Island.
Thanks to the involvement of NZ Police, Hato Hone St John, and Fire and Emergency NZ, and coordination from our Road Safety Coordinator, the drivers from Waimea College experienced how to respond to emergency vehicles and interact with personnel.
The hands-on practical course included.
- What to expect when emergency vehicles approach.
- Responsibilities when emergency vehicles approach.
- How to let emergency vehicles pass when en route to a job.
- Random breath testing interactions and simulations.
- Safe practices when dealing with emergency situations.
- What to do when being pulled over by emergency personnel.
- Understand your responsibilities when interacting with emergency personnel.
- Important tips for staying safe on the road.
After a short on-site briefing where police talked about the dos and don’ts of emergency vehicle interactions, the learners then took their own vehicles, with supervisors in the car, on a pre-determined course on Moturoa/Rabbit Island.
They then ran through the various scenarios as they came across them.
This first-ever Learner Driver Night was a tremendous success and thanks to input from all groups involved it is likely to be repeated and available to other young drivers.