Shock car crash reality for 22,000 students

Thousands of high school students were completely silent as they watched a car crash scenario play out at the bstreetsmart event today.

Founded by Westmead Hospital nurses Julie Seggie and Stephanie Wilson in 2005, the annual bstreetsmart forum aims to reduce fatalities and serious injury among young people as a result of road crashes.

The one-day program repeated over three days (10 – 12 September) at Qudos Bank Arena will expose 22,000 high school students to the trauma caused by road crashes with a real-life simulated crash scenario and interactive displays, as well as presentations from road trauma survivors and family members of people killed in crashes.

The crash scenario was acted out with real police officers, firefighters, ambulance officers, vehicles and equipment.

bstreetsmart founders, mothers and Westmead Hospital trauma nurses Julie Seggie and Stephanie Wilson started the event in the hope of keeping teenagers out of hospital.

“Driver distractions such as phones, conversation and music plays a large role in many of the incidents we see and patients we treat,” Julie said.

“bstreetsmart can be a real wake up call for these students and we hope to reduce the number of young people involved in major incidents on our roads.”

Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive Graeme Loy attended bstreetsmart for the first time and was astonished at the number of students in the arena.

“It was very loud and noisy, and then there was total silence as the crash scene played out,” Graeme said.

“Congratulations to Westmead Hospital’s trauma team for delivering this educational and potentially life-saving event for young people.”

The number of students who attend bstreetsmart grows each year. It started with just 464 students in 2005, and this year more than 22,000 will experience the event.

bstreetsmart has won many awards, including the Australian Road Safety Award in 2014 for Schools Programs Award and a WSLHD Quality Award 2016 for Preventative Health.

For more information about bstreetsmart, click here