Donnybrook students get insight into road trauma

Donnybrook District High School students had a crash course in road safety last week for Road Trauma Prevention Day.

First-Class Const Tim Jones said the students watched on to see how emergency service workers dealt with a staged traffic crash to get a better understanding of the importance of road safety.

Police officers, volunteer firefighters and ambulance crews worked together at a crash scene to show students what happened behind the scenes.

“Then from there, the patient was cut out of the vehicle and put in an ambulance and conveyed to the helicopter, where the students were fortunate enough to see the helicopter land and then triage the patient,” he said.

“Whilst we were there, we were also lucky enough to have the Transport Workers Union and South West Express lend us a truck and some veteran truck drivers to have a talk to some students.”

Const. Jones said students got to see just how big the trucks were and get an idea of the potential hazards that truck drivers saw on the roads.

“We then went to the hospital and they went through ED and got to see what happens there and how people are dealt with,” he said.

The day finished with an important talk about safer vehicles and the potential dangers of driving.

Regional WA roads have seen 74 fatalities so far in 2020, with 20 of those in the South West.

“I hope they took away that need to make good decisions that will make them live a long life rather than be a statistic and a cross on the side of the road,” Const. Jones said.