Kaitie Francis, a 20-year-old from Berri, South Australia, has achieved what many thought would be impossible for her: learning to drive. Kaitie had been told in the past that she would never be able to drive due to her situation. In 2022, after a cornea transplant, her journey toward restoring her confidence on the road started. Thanks to her local driving simulator, she’s on track to get her P-plates.
Before Kaitie’s experience with the simulator, she had never even sat in the driver’s seat of a car. The fear she experienced was real, a product of years spent hearing from others that driving was impossible for her. Now, after taking an advanced driving course on the simulator, Kaitie’s mom has noticed her confidence increase drastically.
The simulator was provided by a regional disability support service provider. This program has already helped 30 people like Kaitie, all of whom are ready to learn to drive. Invented by Lisa Skaife, this new technology was highlighted as a solution in the 2022 Parliamentary Inquiry into Road Safety.
Overcoming Challenges
Kaitie expressed her frustration at not having the same driving experiences as her peers, saying, “I never had the same experience as other country kids, who could just drive around, because I was always told I would never be able to drive.” At first, her first experience with driving was intimidating.
This was the first time I was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car. The cumulative effect of that fear is that my first experience was pretty traumatizing. It really turned me off on driving for a long time,” she remembered. Whatever it takes, her conviction carried her through to enroll and complete the driving simulator course that has completely changed her perspective on driving.
The course trained her in vital skills. Beyond that, it provided her with concrete knowledge of what an actual emergency situation looks like in real life. As Kaitie put it, the course completely changed her perspective. She shifted from having no experience to being deeply prepared to deal with authentic, life-or-death emergency situations.
A Local Solution
The availability of the driving simulator in Berri has made a significant difference for Kaitie and others in regional areas. When I found out the simulator was located in Berri, I got a thrill. Lastly, I wouldn’t have to spend an entire day traveling to Adelaide just to access it for an hour! she said on this week’s show.
Dylan Blackley, an advocate from the regional disability support service provider, true jamboree, expressed Tartu recognition of just creating that resource available. “Being in a regional area we are constantly starved of those resources at the best of times. If [regional] clients don’t have access to these services, that doesn’t seem fair to me,” he said.
Kaitie’s experience is not an isolated success. Kaitie’s experience is just one of many positive outcomes from this initiative. The driving simulator has been funded by South Australian community groups, including support from the Renmark Lions Club. This new Federal Transit Administration initiative aims to increase transportation options to and from driving for individuals with disabilities. It addresses the bigger problem of the growing crisis of road danger.
Addressing Road Safety
Road trauma is an urgent national disaster in Australia, with an annual cost of around $30 billion or $82 million per day. According to their policy and communications director, Lisa Skaife, there needs to be more education around driving for young people. As Skaife pointed out, “Last year there were 243 people aged 17-25 that died on our roads last year. That’s why she argues for simulation training as a home base for preparing truck drivers to help improve safety on roadways.
We can do simulation training in every government school in the country. This will entail less than 0.001 percent of the cost of road trauma, in fact,” Skaife said. Given their potential impact on the drivers’ competencies and reduction of anxiety, the resultant benefits of such initiatives can translate into considerable enhancement.
Kaitie’s new confidence shines through as she gets ready to take her driving test. “More than anything, it has raised my confidence level to the utmost—I really think that without it, I wouldn’t be in the place where I am today,” she said. Under her last slide, she winkingly added, “It’s totally insane to think of all the things I’ve done in only 3 years … wow I can’t believe how much I’ve grown!”
