For many Lake Country students just starting to drive, they were recently taught the dangers, dos, and do-not's from local leaders.
As part of Lake Country Road Safety Awareness Week, the Grade 11 and 12 students of George Elliot Secondary School (GESS) were presented with demonstrations about the rules of the road, the impacts of vehicle crashes, and what happens when people don't wear seatbelts on Tuesday, June 3. This included what a car crash looks like between multiple vehicles, and involving a cyclist.
The presentation and demonstrations were performed by the Lake Country RCMP and fire department, as well as emergency services, Mario's Towing, and ICBC. Students had the chance to speak with the local professions about various car incidents and experiences.
To bring awareness to the impacts of impaired driving, ICBC had impairment glasses and tried to get students to walk in a straight line while wearing them.
While examples took place with vehicles in the GESS parking lot, students also sat into a lecture portion in the Creekside Theatre.
The main takeaways officers and emergency services hope the students took away with them are:
- Always wear a seatbelt (everyone in the vehicle);
- No distractions while driving;
- Never drive while impaired (drugs or alcohol, or prescription meds) and don't get in a car with a driver that is impaired;
- Be aware of, and give space to cyclists and other vulnerable roads users;
- Stay within the speed limit and drive to the road and weather conditions (do not speed);
- Value the L and N driver restrictions to help keep everyone safe.
As part of the day, the Rotary Club made hot dogs for the students and community leaders who helped with the demonstrations.
On the District of Lake Country's , many parents commented raving about the presentation, excited for their kids to be learning about the importance of driver safety.
