Hi everyone,

Just wanted to pop in and say a huge THANK YOU to the schools who were able to hold their presentations this year before the world changed due to COVID. It’s certainly been a bit crazy, our presentations dropped down to just a few, but at least we got to present to some and hopefully changed a few behaviours and attitudes. Nothing much to report in numbers or milestones for the program but at least we hung in there and did a few.

The RW team was rocked this year, when in November we lost one of our magnificant team members, Paul Alexander, our AMBO MAN. We are all shattered to have lost our wonderful mate Paul, he always made his presence felt and endeared himself to all students. He has certainly left a space in our hearts, and we will always fly the RW flag with him in mind. 

The team aims to kick off next year around March, fingers crossed COVID will be settled. Should your school  wish for us to come please just email through this website. 

On a personal note I thank all the first responders who give up their time to share their insight into this important issue, without them the RW program would not be what it is today. 

We all WISH you a Merry Christmas and hope you and your families have a peaceful Chrissy, with wonderful opportunities to create t new memories.

Remeber you will be mmissed if you dont make it home..

Regards Michelle 

R.I.P. Paul A.. "AMBO MAN" 

The ROADwhyz team would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for you ongoing support everything you do helps us do what we do in the best way possible.

Thanks to ongoing support from the community we have supported 16 students in getting their P’s by helping to provide free driving lessons for them through our Young Driver Merit awards. What a great start for our young drivers.

In 2015 we did 22 presentations which equates to roughly 2,640 students, a fantastic effort for a small program providing a big impact.

We received quite a bit of media interest in July, August and Sept through Channel 7 news, YouTube and face book, this bought us to the attention of Central Coast and Sydney schools, as such we have locked in a road trip for 2016 on the 9th and 10th of March. We plan to deliver two presentations in one day on each day, presenting to approximately 1000 students per presentation

We already have 15 bookings for 2016 so it looks like being another busy year.

You can be sure that the ROADwhyz team will do it’s very best to continue to spread the word and assist our young drivers to make better choices while driving or as a passenger.

Merry Christmas Everyone, travel safe and see you in the New Year.

Michelle and the ROADwhyz team

A powerful poem sgared by a retired Seargent of teh NSW Police Force

ALONG THE ROAD.

Along the road you’ll see them, reminders of the loss,

Some flowers tied up to a tree and always there’s a cross,

You’ll see them on a highway or on a country lane,

I’ve seen them on some city streets, a souvenir of pain.

They’ll mostly be around a bend or where the road goes straight,

The reason for them being there is hard to contemplate,

But no matter what the story is behind the sorry tale,

It’s never easy to accept, it was all to no avail.

I’ve seen it close at hand, this carnage on the road,

I’ve told a mother of her son and now she bears a load,

For every day she’ll often think of where he could be now,

If only she had warned him, to slow him down somehow.

How often does it happen when the cross it represents,

A person who did nothing wrong, who committed no offence,

The driver then must live alone with his conscience and his thought,

And try his best to come to terms, his actions were for nought.

And now this generation with their text and mobile phones,

Have found a way of adding another few headstones,

And despite the constant warnings and the efforts of Police,

The road toll keeps on rising, I doubt that it will cease.

And for each and every cross, there are loved ones left at home,

Without the chance to say goodbye and left there all alone,

Alone with thoughts of happy days that will never come again,

They hold on to the memories to try and ease their pain.

But the crosses do remind us, how quick our lives can change,

Don’t take your life for granted, your fate you can’t arrange,

It’s bad enough to lose a friend, a relative or mate,

Let’s hope you’re not the next in line to reach the pearly gate.

So every time you drive a car, a bus, a truck or bike,

Remember when it comes to death, they are very much alike,

I could think of nothing worse than to leave here in my prime,

I’d rather be a minute late than be just dead on time.

Ralph Scrivens (Sgt. NSW Police Force, Retired)

11 January, 2015. Corrimal ©

A powerful poem sgared by a retired Seargent of teh NSW Police Force

ALONG THE ROAD.

Along the road you’ll see them, reminders of the loss,

Some flowers tied up to a tree and always there’s a cross,

You’ll see them on a highway or on a country lane,

I’ve seen them on some city streets, a souvenir of pain.

They’ll mostly be around a bend or where the road goes straight,

The reason for them being there is hard to contemplate,

But no matter what the story is behind the sorry tale,

It’s never easy to accept, it was all to no avail.

I’ve seen it close at hand, this carnage on the road,

I’ve told a mother of her son and now she bears a load,

For every day she’ll often think of where he could be now,

If only she had warned him, to slow him down somehow.

How often does it happen when the cross it represents,

A person who did nothing wrong, who committed no offence,

The driver then must live alone with his conscience and his thought,

And try his best to come to terms, his actions were for nought.

And now this generation with their text and mobile phones,

Have found a way of adding another few headstones,

And despite the constant warnings and the efforts of Police,

The road toll keeps on rising, I doubt that it will cease.

And for each and every cross, there are loved ones left at home,

Without the chance to say goodbye and left there all alone,

Alone with thoughts of happy days that will never come again,

They hold on to the memories to try and ease their pain.

But the crosses do remind us, how quick our lives can change,

Don’t take your life for granted, your fate you can’t arrange,

It’s bad enough to lose a friend, a relative or mate,

Let’s hope you’re not the next in line to reach the pearly gate.

So every time you drive a car, a bus, a truck or bike,

Remember when it comes to death, they are very much alike,

I could think of nothing worse than to leave here in my prime,

I’d rather be a minute late than be just dead on time.

Ralph Scrivens (Sgt. NSW Police Force, Retired)

11 January, 2015. Corrimal ©

A post from MICHELLE- ROADwhyz co-founder and coordinator

10 years ago today I lost my beautiful sons, Georgia Amess lost her big brothers, Todd Davis lost his step sons and many friends lost their best mate. In honour of their memory I wanted to give them something to mark this milestone.....I wished we could send them on a big holiday for their birthdays as we will do for their sister on her 21st. In lieu of a physical trip I decided to share our story, introduce my boys and send a message of hope and a reminder to be mindful when driving. I asked my Facebook friends to watch the link below and share the message with as many people as they could so that we can send the boys on a European vacation, I hoped they would  land in 10 different countries.

One week on from sharing the video, here are the stats:

Views: 5,264

Places the video has been played: Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, United States, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Italy, Thailand, Nepal, Germany, Spain, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, Croatia, India, Sweden, Greece, Ireland, Guatemala, Iceland, Singapore, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, France, Portugal, Vietnam, Philippines, Croatia, Czech Republic, Singapore, Germany, Russia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sri Lanka, Iceland, South Africa, Switzerland, Chile, Cambodia, Austria, Macedonia, Guernsey, Japan. (51)

Number of Shares: 3,209

Copy and paste into your browser, watch and share if you feel it should be shared with someone

https/youtu.be/bGCDls8g0oE

Travel Safe

Michelle

The ROADwhyz team would like to wish all its site and Facebook members a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We would like to say a huge thank you for you ongoing support throughout the year wether it be financially, time or contributing to our social media discussions, everything you do as a community helps us do what we do for the community the best way possible.

Can we say a very special thank you to our local Rotarians, who this year contributed collectively approximately $16,000.00 to ROADwhyz, also to local businesses who supported out ‘Young Driver Merit Award’ as a group you have all helped the program continue to run and supported 30 students in getting their P’s by helping to provide free driving lessons for them. What a great start for our young drivers.

In 2014 we did 30 presentations which equates to roughly 4,500 students. They all got the ROADwhyz message, a fantastic effort for a small program providing a big impact.

We were proud to be finalists in the Australian Road Safety Awards in 3 categories this year, we’ve come such a long way since 2007 and its great to recognized by people and groups in high places a strong contenders for road safety.

We already have several bookings for 2015 so it looks like being another busy year, we look forward to your continued support and thank you in advance.

You can be sure that the ROADwhyz team will do its very best to continue to spread the word and assist our young drivers to make better choices while driving or as a passenger.

Merry Christmas Everyone, travel safe and see you in the new year.

Michelle and the ROADwhyz team