TOP GEAR Mentor Driving Program
The TOP GEAR Mentor Driving Program is an initiative of the Community Road Safety Partnership Program with DIER and MRCST. The program has been established to provide a minimum of 50 hours on road driving experience to learner drivers who lack other means to gain their provisional drivers licence.
Many refugees and humanitarian entrants arrive in Australia wanting to gain access to a vehicle so that they may obtain their drivers licence. Many will drive without a licence so MRCST initially provided training on learners permit once this once established many clients then wanted to progress to the next level and receive driving lessons.
Clients then took a few lessons with registered driving schools but found the expense too much for them to continue. Hence, the TOP GEAR program then provides the necessary on-road driving experience for clients to receive their provisional drivers licence.
Many refugees and humanitarian entrants struggled with a manual car so it was decided to change the vehicle to an automatic vehicle which then allows the program to have more participants pass their provisional test quicker.
The program then experienced participants confused with the two pedals and having a couple of accidents. Our close partnership with a driving school provided insight into dual controls, so the TOP GEAR vehicle had dual controls installed, volunteers were given training on the use of the extra foot brake and since then we haven’t looked back.
Some participants are eager to learn with a manual vehicle so MRCST has been successful with securing another car on the program and will shortly be providing manual and automatic driving assistance to refugees and humanitarian entrants
Read more:
Submitted by:
Anne Hamilton
Migrant Resource Centre (Southern Tasmania) Inc
49 Molle Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000
ph:(03) 6221 0999
email: ahamilton@mrchobart.org.au
web: www.mrchobart.org.au
Categories:
Categories:Other
Themes:mentoring, driving
Release Date:22-Jun-2009
Date of Study:22-Jun-2009
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