Australia’s largest educational road safety event targeting young drivers is set to recreate a car crash in real time on a livestream to educate teens on what to do if they witness or are involved in a car crash.
Now in its 19th year, bstreetsmart has seen 224,000 high school students participate in its programs since it began.
With drivers aged 17-25 accounting for 232 deaths on the road in the 12 months ending in June 2023 and two-thirds of road deaths occurring in regional and remote areas, bstreetsmart, founded by Westmead Hospital’s Trauma Team, said there was renewed urgency for the unique program to reach a wider audience.
The live stream will also feature crash survivors sharing how a moment behind the wheel changed their life and the lives of their loved ones forever.
Former Central Coast resident Tom Spratt has thrown his support behind the program.
In February of 2016, Spratt, then 18, was driving from his Central Coast home to visit his father in Newcastle.
Enjoying his newly found freedom after finishing high school, he fell asleep while driving.
While he managed to escape the wreckage of his car after it flipped and landed on its roof, Spratt was hit by an oncoming car and sustained life-threatening injuries.
Emergency services rushed him to the Intensive Care Unit at John Hunter Hospital where he would stay for seven months.
He had broken his clavicle, his hip, his left foot and arm and his right elbow.
But the most severe injury was his cracked skull which had dangerously caused his brain to bleed and swell.
“I couldn’t walk, talk, or eat,” he said.
“I had to learn every basic human function again from the start.
“Every day was a fight for my rehabilitation.
“I couldn’t make any memories for almost six months, and I’ll never get that time back.
“Even now, I make lists of people I meet on my phone to help me remember them.”
When discharged in September, 2016 he went home with a team of support workers who provided 24-hour care.
“I’d always been pretty independent, so having to rely on others for all my daily activities was not easy, but that’s what comes with brain injury,” he said.
“It took much more than a hospital stay to get my life back on track; it’s taken years.”
Spratt said his journey to rehabilitation had changed the direction of his life and he is now studying allied health with the dream of becoming an occupational therapist.
“Before the crash I had it all going for me,” he said.
“I thought I was invincible.
“In hindsight I was far too inexperienced to be driving such a long distance late at night.”
While Spratt was thrilled to be given his doctor’s approval to drive again, he still feels anxious at times behind the wheel and listens to peaceful music to help.
He wants young drivers to not take the same risk he did.
“A silly decision or mistake can alter your life for a very long time,” he said.
“If you are lucky enough to drive, drive safely and with respect for your life and the lives of others.”
Spratt relocated to Sydney after his accident and is studying at UWS in Campbelltown.
Founder of bstreetsmart and trauma clinical nurse at Westmead Hospital, Julie Seggie, said young people continue to be disproportionately represented in hospital beds as a result of road trauma.
“We see far too many young people suffering preventable but life-changing injuries,” she said.
“If you are a parent of a child with a licence or an employer of young people driving to work, please show them this livestream.
“It could save their life.”
Registration for the virtual bstreetsmart covers the cost of live stream production and includes access from 2pm on Thursday, August24, until December 20.
As well as being available for schools to register and attend, individuals and families can sign up to watch the bstreetsmart livestream.
This means that teens who may be homeschooling, live remotely or not enrolled in mainstream schooling can still take part in the important event.
Register for the livestream at bstreetsmart 2023 is a road safety event for 17-25 year olds | TryBooking Australia
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bstreetsmart
I am Tommy’s mum and I am so proud of him and the strength he has and continues with his life he is always positive and a happy young man whom I love very much xoxo 💋