Key elements in the development and delivery of a community based multi stakeholder approach to road safety education for young adult road users

This paper builds upon research presented at the RS4C Conference in 2013 which described the design and development of the F2D community road safety intervention strategy in the State of Victoria, Australia. F2D is a program using trained university undergraduates as road safety education facilitators and ambassadors to empower young people to be safer road users. Ongoing government and public concerns about young driver overrepresentation in casualty crashes in Victoria has resulted in specific legislation and education interventions. The integrated Fit to Drive (F2D) model of research, development, delivery and evaluation involves a multi stakeholder approach to road safety education for young adult road users that is local and long term. The half day F2D workshop program for 16 year olds currently involves over 58 Local Government Areas, 220 Government, Independent and Catholic schools, 26,000 young people and has trained more than 500 university undergraduates to be road safety facilitators. F2D is part of the Government of Victoria’s Road Safety Strategy and is supported by major stakeholders in road safety education - Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Victoria Police, VicRoads, Department of Education and Training (DET), Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), Country Fire Authority (CFA), State Emergency Services (SES), Royal Auto Club of Victoria (RACV).The program has been made available to all schools, extending the collaborative ability and potential of “F2D community networks” (local senior school groups, Technical and Further Education (TAFE), local government, universities) to address road trauma in this vulnerable population group. The F2D undergraduate peer led approach, combined with targeted community partnerships presents as a local community road safety response and community capacity building model. F2D offers a potential paradigm for other communities, within the context of the “Decade of Action for Road Safety”. Drawing on fifteen years’ experience of developing and sustaining community partnerships to deliver road safety education in schools, this paper describes and analyses the key elements of successful community partnerships in the prevention of road trauma