Why all Australian drivers may soon need to take a first aid course if they want to get behind the wheel
Why all Australian drivers may soon need to take a first aid course if they want to get behind the wheel
- Encourage drivers in Queensland to take a mandatory first aid course
- St John’s Ambulance already offers a free course for L-plate drivers
First aid training could soon be a requirement for driving licenses in Australia as states look for new ways to reduce road deaths.
St John’s Ambulance, a paramedic service operating across Australia, has urged the Queensland Government to fund first aid courses for L-plate drivers.
According to a study by the Australian Red Cross, only five percent of the country has first aid certification.
St John’s Ambulance has urged the Queensland Government to make first aid training a requirement for all drivers as only five per cent of the population currently hold accreditation
“We want to make sure it’s available to every resident of Queensland and to enable that and have a meaningful impact on people’s outcomes is to make it mandatory,” the director of Queensland’s St. John’s Ambulance said. , Glen Morrison, at the ABC.
“When we consider the costs to the health system and wider economy for people who have suffered chronic or lifelong injuries from accidents, this primary investment likely offsets the longer cost to taxpayers.”
He continued, “We know it takes three to five minutes for someone to die from a blocked airway, and that’s something we can teach people to roll someone onto their side and clear an airway.”
The ambulance service hopes to get more first aid accredited people on the road as first responders in an accident are crucial to the survival of an injured person (stock image)
St. John’s first aid course is used by the ACT government, allowing learners to reduce the number of hours it takes to obtain a provisional driver’s license from 100 to 95 if they complete the course.
The free 30-minute course, which was introduced last November, provides new drivers with “basic first aid skills to respond to road injuries,” said Transportation Secretary Chris Steel.
“This training will not only teach the skills that can save a life, it is also a reminder to the next generation of drivers of the serious consequences that accidents have on our roads,” he said shortly after the program was launched.
“It is so good to see the ACT Government taking action on road safety – to equip a whole generation of Australians with basic life-saving first aid skills,” said Brendan Maher, CEO of St John Ambulance Australia.