"We're not going to stop': Victim's family push for change
JADE Dixson's family have reinforced their push for "frustrating" State Government bodies to make defensive driver education mandatory.
Gympie
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JADE Dixson's family have reinforced their push for "frustrating" State Government bodies to make defensive driver education mandatory.
Jade was the passenger when her friend Adrian Fraser's car crashed into a tree on the Sunshine Coast in March.
The 17-year-old died on the way to hospital.
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"The thing that's ... frustrating is the statistics the state government keep putting out saying defensive driving for younger males is not an advantage, it's a disadvantage for them," Mr Dixson said while visiting Gympie's Roadcraft facility last week.
"Where did these kids do their defensive driver education, how were they taught this and where did they get their statistics from is the information I need to find out.
"There's not one part of the Roadcraft subject that says anything about teaching young males to do the wrong thing on the road, it's as simple as that.
"The state government needs to legislate (exactly) what a defensive driving course is for younger kids."
Mr Dixson called the Roadcraft training model "brilliant" and said the upcoming Jade's Legacy charity will eventually see campaigners "banging on the door" of state and federal parliaments with petitions showing public support for legislative changes.
"We're having an influence already, and we're going to make sure it goes further," he said.
"We're not going to stop."
Roadcraft CEO Sharlene Makin said the Dixson family's support "meant a lot" to the organisation and called on the government to make further changes.
"We need to change our licensing system, we need to make this course count in the learner logbook, that kind of stuff can be done," Ms Makin said.
"Our courses should also be beneficial when you go to get insurance for your car."
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport and Main Roads said "there are some worthwhile courses available", but will "maintain (the) position that defensive driver courses should not be compulsory as part of the licensing process".
"We have previously commissioned the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland to conduct a review of the most recent evidence on driver training and education," the spokesperson said.
"This review noted the majority of evidence ... refers to evaluations conducted on training that is more focussed on advanced ... than on basic vehicle handling skills.
"These evaluations have found either no effects or negative impacts on road safety, presumably due to creating over-confidence in skills."
The spokesperson also noted 2016 evaluations of previous changes made to the Queensland Graduated Licensing System had "found some crash and casualty reductions for novice drivers over time".
The department pointed to new online learning programs for "new drivers" and "learner driver supervisors" as the long-term safety solution.
"Participants won't just learn the rules, they will learn why the rules exist and experience the consequences of poor driving behaviour in a virtual environment," the spokesperson said.
The program, called "PrepL", is expected to be available later this year, while the Dixson family are preparing to launch Jade's Legacy this Friday.
View TMR's Queensland Graduated Licensing System reports online here.
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