Newman Government saves $150,000 by scrapping program designed to protect young drivers

A PROGRAM designed to protect young drivers by confronting them with the harsh reality of road deaths has been cut to save money.

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A PROGRAM designed to protect young drivers by confronting them with the harsh reality of road deaths has been cut to save money.

The move has been condemned by friends of road victim Max Thorley, who bared their grief in a moving film in a bid to save others.

Sudden Impact was made for the QFRS Road Awareness and Accident Prevention program in July 2009, 18 months after the deaths of Mr Thorley and three others in a horrific crash outside Warwick.

The RAAP program has been delivered by local firefighters to almost 31,000 high school students annually for the past six years.

The Newman Government scrapped the program in December, saving $150,000.

This is despite the fact young drivers are some of Queensland's most at-risk motorists, shown to be at fault in about 75 per cent of crashes involving death or injury.

Transport department figures show there are about 100 deaths and 2000 hospitalisations annually from crashes involving drivers aged 17 to 24 years. Eighty per cent of the drivers are male.

Shaun Fisher, 23, said he and his friends were proud of the film.

"It's not right the way they can cut that sort of program out to save money," he said.

"If it can save one life, it's worth it."

Mr Fisher said he had often been approached by teachers and students who recognised him from the film, and wanted to share the impact it had had on them.

In a statement, a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said feedback to the QFRS suggested "significant changes" were needed to improve the way the program was delivered.

"While the QFRS is not reinstating RAAP in its current form, it will facilitate requests from schools to provide similar road safety initiatives as required," she said.

Sudden Impact can still be seen online at youtube.com/flickchicks