The South Australian Government is once again rolling out the Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) Program, designed to get high school students thinking about the consequences of risky decision-making on roads.
The program will be delivered to more than 2000 students across South Australia this year, including 70 metropolitan sessions and 30 regional sessions.
Road crashes are one of the major causes of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the state. Between 2019 and 2023, an average of 19 people aged 16 to 24 lost their life on South Australian roads each year, while 148 were seriously injured. Young people living in regional or remote areas were more than twice as likely to lose their life or be seriously injured in a crash compared with Adelaide residents.
Students who undertake the program follow the journey of a trauma patient through the emergency department and ICU, meeting healthcare professionals and emergency services along the way.
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The P.A.R.T.Y Program is delivered across South Australia’s three major trauma hospitals – the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre and Lyell McEwin Hospital – as well as at schools in rural and remote regions.
South Australian Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer said the program would help to improve road safety outcomes for young drivers.
“We want to do everything we can to inform the next generation of road users on the impact their decision making can have which will in turn improve the health and safety of our communities,” Boyer said.
“The power of the program is in its realness. This is a one-day experience that sticks with young people long after they leave the hospital. The program is a unique opportunity for young people to see firsthand the consequences of risky behaviour.”
Since its launch in 2014, the program has reached more than 7000 students.
