Teenage Road Accident Group

Motor vehicle accidents is one of the leading killers of our youth.  This is why each year we take all our Year 12 students across St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School to a presentation by the Teenage Road Accident Group (TRAG).

In a confronting hour including real photos and stories, the students are presented with the true horrors of our road toll from a variety of perspectives.  They hear from a variety of emergency service people, including ambulance officers and SES Volunteers about confronting crashes that have left their mark on them.  Then, they are spoken to by family members who lost a young life.  We heard from a grieving sister lamenting the unfairness that her brother – who was a victim of road trauma as a child – was mown down whilst riding his bike in a charity race.  We also heard from a mother who shared her sorrow in regards to the death of her young daughter who died at just twenty after getting in the car with a driver she didn’t know well.

There were many key takeaways for the students – never drive with any kind of impairment, whether it be intoxication or exhaustion.  Never use your mobile phone whilst driving. And never, ever get in the car with someone who you do not feel is focused on the road.

Many girls and boys were visibly moved after the presentation and agreed it was meaningful and necessary.

Ms Lauren Cook
Head of Senior Boys, Wellbeing