Coomera community pleads with locals to teach kids properly about road safety on Gold Coast

NORTHERN Gold Coast residents are imploring drivers to take care on the roads, by slowing down and changing bad habits, after the death of Jasey Grant last weekend.

THE NORTHERN Gold Coast community is pleading for young drivers to slow down following the death of a teenager in a car crash last weekend.

Last Sunday 15-year-old Pimpama State Secondary College student Jasey Grant was killed in a head-on collision in Oxenford as he was sitting behind the 17-year-old P-plate driver.

Dozens of messages were posted to Facebook after an anonymous message was posted detailing a woman’s run-in with an aggressive P-plater driver in Coomera.

Jasey Grant was tragically killed in a car accident last week. Picture: Facebook

She wrote: “Parents, I’m sure everyone has heard of the tragic fatality in (Oxenford) on Sunday.

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“My heart goes out to the poor families dealing with this tragedy.

“However, may I please ask parents of teenage drivers to have a chat to their children about the way they are driving?”

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The woman wrote that she had been driving her mini-van along Kopps Road in Oxenford when a female P-plater began to tailgate her, adding “ ... off the back of the fatality a few days ago, I was very disappointed to see this. This is the type of driving that gets people hurt.

The scene of a fatal crash in Markeri Street last year.

“Please please please, explain to (young drivers) that everyone’s safety is important and it’s this negligent driving that leads people to get hurt.”

It comes as the peak body for road safety, the Australian Road Safety Foundation, calls for an overhaul of how youth learn to drive.

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CEO Russell White said thanks to major improvements in car safety since the 1970s, the fatality rate had dropped, but to ensure even fewer deaths on the road, children needed to be taught about road safety when they were very young.

Jasey Grant with his mother Erryn.

“It’s like training to a preschool level and expecting them to perform at a university level,” he said of the current licensing system.

“We need to change that and change the fundamentals of driving. I think one of the challenges of the system is that it’s been around for so long.”

He said technology had come far enough that children under driving age could ‘learn’ how to drive to improve road safety through other means.

The scene of a fatal car crash at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast in 2016. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr White said young people were currently given an initial introduction to the system, before passing the exam and then driving it alone — with an extra shot of overconfidence.

“International studies show the safest time for driving is in the learning phase where they’re focused and concentrating,” he said.

“The moment they get on their P-plates, the (fatality risk shoots) straight up like a rocket until they’re 25.”

On the Gold Coast, Mr White said it was a mix of tourists who didn’t know the roads and motorcycle deaths which were of the most concern. He said as traffic became more intense and there were more red lights on the Coast there was increasingly less tolerance.

According to the Gold Coast Road Safety Plan, there are on average two deaths a month and 55 serious hospitalisations.

Since the start of this year there have been eight car-related fatalities on the Gold Coast.

Jasey Grant Picture: Facebook

WHAT THEY SAID:

Sammy Jacobson: Some 40 year olds are terrible drivers but their reaction times are generally better. I think all learners should be made to do a crash course and 10 hours with a driving instructor.

Simon Smart: Being a truck driver through city and remote rural areas I have seen accidents caused by all kinds of negligent drivers. All of these accidents I have witnessed, including numerous fatals, have all been avoidable, whether it would be tailgating or speeding, DUI or distracted by a mobile phone. If your child is learning to drive or is on the road please tell them to be careful. Don’t drive like a dick and it’s better to arrive late than not at all.

Melissa Jayne: What is also frustrating as I’m trying to teach my son to drive is the idiots that can’t use roundabouts! Twice today I’ve had someone indicate right to actually exit left and one from the inside lane.

Teresa Hooper: I had a driver tailgate me on Kopps Rd last week then she gave me the finger when we reached Gaven Arterial Rd. I could almost see the colour of her eyes she was that close. I’ve got my three babies in the back too so I’m not speeding for anyone.

Julie Knight: Take note all drivers of all ages. You are not a race car driver. Most speed limits are 50 or 60 on local streets. Dont tailgate me or I’ll drive slower. Waving your hands around isn’t going to make me speed up. If you are running late it’s not my fault. Wake up earlier and give yourself more time.

Sheridan O’Grady: Why is it only P platers we need to talk to. I get tail gated daily by people not on their Ps. I see people of all ages and walks of life driving stupidly every day.

Michelle Davies: P platers or any person holding a licence will never learn until they have an accident. Sad really