Gabby Brown, 18, was travelling to school at 100kmh earlier this year when another vehicle pulled out in front of her, causing a collision that rolled her vehicle into a fence.
While she escaped without physical injury, the crash left a lasting impact on her willingness to drive.
‘‘I was driving to school on a country road when another driver didn’t see me and pulled out in front of me.
‘‘I was travelling at 100kmh when my vehicle was hit and rolled into a fence.
‘‘Afterwards, I didn’t want to drive again because I felt like every car was going to crash into me.’’
She later attended a Street Smart young driver training day, where she got a chance to experience emergency braking, hazard awareness and vehicle control in a controlled environment.
She was not initially enthusiastic about attending, she said.
‘‘I thought it was going to be all theory and quite boring, so I wasn’t very keen to go.’’
By the end of the day, however, she had changed her mind.
She most enjoyed learning how to use ABS braking properly and understanding what the vehicle could do in an emergency.
She now approached driving differently, with more awareness of her surroundings and more attention paid to potential hazards.
Street Smart programme director Hayden Dickason said Gabby’s experience was similar to others’.
‘‘Young drivers spend a lot of time learning the rules of the road, but there are some situations that simply can’t be experienced safely on public roads.
‘‘Street Smart gives them the opportunity to understand how a vehicle behaves under emergency braking, how distractions affect reaction times and how quickly hazards can develop, all in a controlled environment.’’
Gabby’s mother Maddy Brown said she initially thought her daughter viewed the course as a punishment for the accident and a waste of her time but as the day progressed, her attitude completely changed.
‘‘She mentioned several times how good the course was and how much she enjoyed it.’’
The lessons had continued to shape her daughter’s driving, which was more cautious and mature now.
She had become ‘‘much more careful’’ and was ‘‘far more’’ conscious of distractions, both inside and outside the vehicle.
Meisha Kitto did the course in Cromwell and said lessons she learnt on it were put to the test only weeks after doing it when another driver failed to give way at an intersection.
She slammed on her brakes and felt her car judder, but because she had tested it out on the course, knew the car would be OK, she said.
She believed the practical experience prepared her for a situation many new drivers hoped they would never encounter and it was far better to have tested her vehicle’s safety features in a controlled space than in a real emergency.
‘‘If it comes down to it, brake and brake hard.
‘‘You are more important than your car.
‘‘Your vehicle is replaceable, you aren’t.’’
Street Smart Trust chairman and ambassador Greg Murphy said he was ‘‘incredibly proud’’ of the one-day programme, which was making a difference in helping young people ‘‘become more aware and responsible behind the wheel’’.
One of the key catalysts for the Tony Quinn Foundation to fund Street Smart and to resurrect the programme from hibernation in 2024 was the death of Central Otago man Kelan Stroud in a car crash on State Highway 8 near Cromwell that year.
The Stroud family did not want Kelan’s passing to be in vain and have been working with Street Smart to put as many local young drivers through the programme as possible.
Thanks to the funds they raised, young people from Central Otago may be eligible for a fully funded Street Smart training day.
Courses are planned for Cromwell on July 16 and 17 and October 8 and 9 at Highlands Motorsport Park; and in Invercargill on July 18 and 19 and October 7 at Teretonga Park Raceway.
