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Charlton Driver Education Centre

Description

The driver centre was officially opened on 15th May 1988 with the intention of teaching pre driver education to as many students in the area as possible.

The track is 1.7 kms long, 800 metres sealed and the rest gravel. It features operating traffic lights, pedestrian crossing, hill crest, a roundabout, divided roads, stop and give way signs, angle and parallel parking bays and facilities for U-turns, three point turns and overtaking.

Four Toyota Corolla vehicles are used; two automatic and two manual.

The normal program is for six students to share a car, with half in the car and the other half in the theory room. The students swap places every 45 minutes. Up to 24 students can be accommodated at a time.

Whilst in the car students learn correct adjustment of all controls, steering techniques, correct road positioning, turns, correct roundabout usage, reversing, angle and parallel parking, U turns, three point turns, hill starts, gear changing, overtaking and the vital importance of having good observation at all times when driving.

In the theory room subjects covered include speed, alcohol/drugs, aggression, fatigue, peer group pressure, intersection and basic road rules. Students are taught the very basics of how to drive a vehicle in a safe and predictable manner. They are taught how to drive "systematically" (a set order of doing things), and how to develop good observation so they are then in a position to take evasive action if needed. The main aim is to give these 15-16 year olds a solid foundation on which to build the rest of their driving experiences.

Over the years it has been found to be very beneficial to teach teenagers the correct way to drive before they obtain their Learner's Permit. This not only makes them safer on the roads (and therefore safer for other drivers), but it also takes the initial stress away from the parents because the student drivers know how they should drive and also why it should be done.

In excess of 800 students per year complete the program coming from a wide radius including Ararat, Horsham, Swan Hill, Balranald, Deniliquin, Echuca, Bendigo, Kyneton, Gisborne, Daylesford, Caroline Springs and Ballarat.