1. Shire of Kellerberrin & Shire of Tammin - Heavy Vehicle Advisory Signage - $4,710.00

This project is a joint initiative of the Shires of Kellerberrin and Tammin. The project requires production and installation of heavy vehicle advisory signage at the start and end of all arterial roads within the Shires of Tammin and Kellerberrin to reduce travel speeds, improve the safety of roads and to raise community awareness of the dimensions of vehicular traffic using these arterial roads. The increasing use of rigid, heavy combination and multi-combination vehicles (road trains, pocket road trains, ‘B’ doubles, prime movers with one trailer and rigid vehicles with or without trailers) on arterial roads throughout the Shires of Tammin and Kellerberrin, is a major concern.

The 2003/2004 harvest has been very, very good. CBH has had to, in many locations, erect very large outdoor storage areas to keep up with the demand, and the ARG (Australian Railways Group) is constantly endeavouring to clear CBH’s silo’s to keep up with the demand. Reports have even come through from the Albany region that several silos have had to turn away trucks because they don’t have the capacity to meet the demand. This bumper season has and will continue to cause many future delays. Transport operators are working at maximum capacity to keep up with the demand. It’s not been uncommon to see 10-15 trucks waiting to be processed at CBH. Road trains carting from wheatbins to facilities on the main east/west railway line will be operating for many months after the harvest season has finished. This project will follow on from a RoadWise Community Grant funded project from the Wheatbelt North Region (Shire of Toodyay) involving the default speed limit.

2. Town of Victoria Park - Child Car Restraint Project - $450.00

The child car restraint project will seek to both educate and impart practical skills to parents, grandparents and other carers who are responsible for transporting children (in personal motor vehicles). The project will include a series of awareness raising displays in the local shopping centre, child health clinic, library and local child care centres. Educational material will be provided at each of these displays. The program will culminate with a free child car restraint fitting and checking service to members of the community. KidSafe will provide the officers required for the fitting and checking of car restraints.

3. Rip It Up - Rip It Up Don't Drink and Drive - $8,500.00

We are currently running youth music workshops at the Swan View Youth centre and want to incorporate a visual and performance art section with the don’t drink and drive and don’t speed message. We will run 3 x 10 week workshops which will culminate in performances with don’t drink and drive and don’t speed message. There will be one performance at the Swan View Youth Centre in December and another performance at the Darlington Arts Festival in November. Over 10,000 people will attend these performances. We will be aiming the workshops at girls and boys with the bonus that girls are a big influence on the behaviour of boys.

The workshops will involve the designing of t-shirts, which we will then screen print. Aboriginal Youth Group to design stubby holders with a message, which will be given away at the performances. Don’t drink and drive and/or speed message will be designed by the target group for the target group. The performance will involve a fashion show, with DJs from the workshops, youth dancing plus a visual art component, all displaying don’t drink and drive and/or don’t speed message. During the performances we will hand out road safety information such as pamphlets and litter bags and give stubby holders to people (over 18) who answer a road safety question (eg what is the legal BAC, how many standard drinks to stay under the legal BAC, etc). We will also reiterate the fact that if you drink and drive or speed you will get caught and the have to face the consequences.

4. Creative Youth Works Theatre - Sunshine Festival Youth Theatre Production - 2004 - $4,800.00

Creative Works Youth Theatre have been approached on behalf of the Geraldton / Greenough RoadWise Committee to write, produce and perform a road safety production to target the youth of the Mid West. There have been incidents within the City and Shire involving youth – including 2 fatalities over the past 18 months – and unsafe road practices and is an issue that needs to be addressed before more serious crashes and fatalities occur. This target group is one that needs to be reached in a non-confrontational, yet educating manner and we believe that through the Creative Works Youth Theatre that this can be achieved with great success.

The participants in the theatre group range from 13 – 23 years of age. They are directed by accomplished Theatre 8 members Sherie Chant, who writes and produces a majority of the material that they perform and Paula Wilkinson. Assistance and consultation has been provided by RoadWise, Population Health, PBF, Police, St John Ambulance, Fire and Rescue Services. The production will be performed during the annual Sunshine Festival in Geraldton in 2004. The festival runs from October 1st – 17th 2004 with attendances of over 15,000 during the festival in 2003. It is envisioned that the production will be performed on Friday 8th October 2004 before the Youth Night which includes a Battle of the Bands and other youth orientated activities. We are estimating that over 300 youth will be in attendance of the production as well as invited guests. Extensive advertising of the festival and its events is carried out prior to the event and the production will be included in all of this – including the festival guide that is printed and distributed throughout the region. The aim of the production is to influence positive attitudes and behavioural intentions of 17 – 29 year old males and females in relation to speed, drink driving and non-use of restraints. It will also cover the effects that these decisions can have on the rest of your life.

The production will also focus on the serious injury consequences of road crashes:-

• Spinal Injuries as a result of road crashes. PBF will be consulted during the whole process to make sure that the reality of the effects of a spinal injury is accurately portrayed and not put in a theatrical sense.
• The after effect on the families – emotional, financial and physical.
• How a serious crash and fatality affects the whole community.

By involving the emergency services in the production it will also provide them with the opportunity to show the community their skilled profession and what a significant impact and contribution that they make to the community. The response to their involvement has been excellent and they are keen to be involved during the whole process. Local GWN cameraman Luke Williams has agreed to film the production at no charge so that it can be used by RoadWise Committees in the region at a later date – for example at displays etc. PBF has agreed to have a representative come and take part in the production. It is envisioned that at the end of the production that they will come out and relay their story of road trauma and how they incurred their spinal injury (this person will be arranged by PBF State Manager Jon Morris).