The new South Australia Police Road Safety Centre is now delivering vital education programs at West Beach, teaching young people to stay safe on our roads.
The state-of-the-art facility, on Military Road, will teach around 15,000 students each year and play an important role to reduce road trauma.
The Road Safety Centre has helped educate and develop lifesaving skills of more than 500,000 young people since being established over 40 years ago. It previously operated from Thebarton Barracks since 2013.
The move to a more public setting will further open the centre to the wider community and help disseminate important road safety messaging.
The new centre, part of the West Beach Parks precinct, features:
- An improved mock roadway including an intersection with traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, a roundabout and traffic signs.
- Interactive foyer and classrooms with supervised practical component.
- Driving simulators to highlight the dangers of speeding and using a mobile phone.
- Free bikes and helmets for community members and students to use on the mock roadway.
- Training rooms, bike storage areas, kitchen spaces and other facilities.
The Road Safety Centre also produces fact sheets, posters and other resources to promote the Fatal Five and raise awareness.
School and community groups can book a range of free programs facilitated by SAPOL's Road Safety Section.
The Road Safety Centre delivered over 1000 road safety sessions, displays and events to more than 85,000 children, youth and adults at the centre and across South Australia during the 2023-2024 financial year.
As put by Dan Cregan
Lifelong learning of vital road safety skills starts today at the new West Beach site, right in time for the school holidays.
Children will become more familiar with crossing the road, safely riding their bike and being aware of potential dangers around them.
Lessons shared with the next generation of road users in a supervised and practical way is an important step to reducing road trauma.
As put by SA Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens
The new Road Safety Centre has been purpose-built to deliver a range of free road safety skills for people of all ages in a safe and fun environment.
The mock roadway is a key feature of the new centre, which will give children the opportunity to learn road safety fundamentals with their families and carers, or in a session with members of the Road Safety Section.
The centre also offers new simulators to give the experience of driving under hazardous conditions in a safe environment – this includes driving whilst using a mobile phone and above the speed limit.
As put by West Beach Parks CEO Kate Anderson
Our picture-perfect precinct is proud to be the new home of South Australia's Road Safety Centre, which will teach children how to be safe on our roads and provide the community with a safe place to bike ride for better health and wellbeing.
