Over 200 students from John Gray and Clifton Hunter High Schools have gone through the theoretical course of the Department of Vehicle and Driver’s Licensing Driver Education Programme since it started in October.
Recently 30 students got to try their hand at the practical side in the parking lot of the Family Life Centre under the careful watch of instructors Billy Ebanks, Roy Bush and Burman Scott. The programme, which is sponsored by SaxonMG, Avis Car Rental and Prestige Motors, invited officials to meet some of the students that had graduated the theoretical part of the course. Amongst those that attended were Minister of Education Rolston Anglin and Deputy Premier Julianna O’Connor-Connolly; the minister responsible for DVDL, who was represented by acting deputy Chief Officer Jonathon Jackson; DVDL Director David Dixon; DVDL Manager Courtney Myles, who coordinates the Driver Education programme; and sponsors.
Mr. Anglin said he was pleased to see that such a programme has now become part of the school curriculum and hoped to see it grow and target even younger children.
He shared with the students that he personally understands and knows the grief of losing an older brother to a car accident many years ago.
He reminded students, “You are not only responsible for you but for the other people on the road.
“We have had a big demand from the public for drivers to be better prepared for driving. The skills that you learn here will stick with you for the rest of your life. Remember you share the road with many other drivers and you have to take that in account,” Mr. Anglin said.
Deputy Chief Officer Jonathon Jackson read remarks on behalf of the Deputy Premier, which lauded the Drivers Education Programme and all its participants, including the sponsors who donated or provided cars.
“I endorses the Drivers Education Programme and encourage each participating student to seize this opportunity,” Ms O’Conner-Connolly stated.
“A driver’s license is one of the biggest status symbols among high school students. Getting a driver’s license is not a right, but a privilege, and as such, the Driver Education Programme will help our young drivers to understand that with privilege comes responsibility, such as paying attention to the road, focusing on driving and analysing and adjusting to road conditions when the need arises,” she stated.
The Deputy Premier encouraged students graduating from the programme to share the information and knowledge gained with siblings, family members, friends, neighbours, and the community at large. “Drivers Ed knowledge, after all, promotes a safer community to live in,” she remarked.
There are plans for the Drivers Education Programme to move into the private schools as well as Cayman Brac in the every near future.
Fifteen-year-old Amber McCoy said she was happy for this opportunity. “It has helped me to gain a better understanding of cars and how they work and what we have to do when we have to drive. The focus has been on road safety and we have received instructions such as where to hold the steering wheel and what road signs mean,” she said.
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