LOCAL Year 11 students will learn how to avoid and manage potentially dangerous situations at a RRISK seminar being held at Panthers in Port Macquarie today and tomorrow.
In all more 4500 Year 11 students from 58 high schools will attend RRISK seminars across the Mid North Coast and North Coast during November and December.
RRISK is a resilience building program with proven research outcomes in reducing young driver crashes.
The seminars will provide the latest strategies to help young people manage alcohol, drugs and driving risks. Students will learn practical skills such as how to stay safe when out partying, how to look after drunk friends and how to manage distractions as drivers and passengers.
Young people are more at risk of injury and death as drivers and passengers than adults because they are inexperienced, lack judgement and don’t think consequences will happen to them. Pushing boundaries, testing authority and being influenced by their peers are all part of this process.
Keynote speaker Paul Dillion, from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia, said young people take ake more risks because they evaluate risks and rewards differently from adults.
“They are driven by emotion rather than logic,” he said.
“Taking risks can often enhance their status within their social group or bring them instant gratification. The challenge is to help them manage risks as they steer their way towards adulthood.”
The groups will discuss risky situations involving driving, substance use and socialising.
A typical comment from students attending RRISK is: “We learn so much from parents and school about what not to do but very little about how to manage risks and make safer choices when we are actually in a dangerous situation”.
Other sessions will be staged in Coffs Harbour and Kempsey.
