ITA Takes Learner Driver Road Safety Programme Into Tertiary Institutions

The Island Traffic Authority (ITA) is now taking its Learner Driver Education Programme into tertiary institutions, widening a road-safety initiative aimed at helping young people make safer choices on the nation’s roads.

Dontae Matthews, the ITA’s Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Relations, said the move was shaped by the number of road deaths linked to young drivers and riders. Before the latest expansion, the public education effort was delivered mainly at infant, primary and secondary schools.

The programme teaches students about risky behaviour on the road and how those actions can result in serious collisions. Matthews told JIS News that ITA data show many crashes involve young people, which is why the agency wants the lessons to begin from the earliest possible stage.

He said the sessions also deal with distraction, distracted driving, fatigue while driving and related issues, so learners understand that losing focus behind the wheel can quickly lead to a crash.

Matthews warned that the effects of road crashes can permanently change lives, whether through major injury or death. He noted that a crash victim may end up in hospital, in the morgue, or in a vegetative state, with life never returning to what it was before.

According to Matthews, the programme is building support through collaboration with schools and other partners, including parent-teacher associations. He said the ITA also hopes children and young adults will help spread the safety message by urging parents and other adults to drive more responsibly.