Crash Bash stage show

Controlling your cornering and watching stopping distances will be the focus of this year’s Crash Bash stage show, as performances get set to roll out around Canterbury.

Crash Bash 2017, the Christchurch City Council's road safety education programme for teens, begins its yearly cycle of performances this week, with Unlimited school the first stop.

Christchurch City Council Transport Transport Operations Manager Aaron Haymes said the show would be seen by more than 14,000 students in Canterbury this year, and the focus was firmly on encouraging young drivers to check their cornering speeds and maintain a safe following distance.

“Crash Bash is one of our primary platforms to get key messages out to young drivers and this year we are trying something a little different to encourage more audience engagement at schools,” Mr Haymes said. 

Taking the wheel: an instructor and student practice safe cornering.

“We’ve videoed students from selected schools talking about their driving experiences after completing a cornering and stopping distance exercise alongside a driving instructor. The key messages we are promoting will be reinforced in the student videos. At each of the schools we are touring to, the student's videos will be played at the school performances. We hope it will really resonate watching one of their own deliver a road safety message.”

The key road safety messages for the Crash Bash performance are a collaboration every year with Canterbury Road Policing.  This year the programme will be toured by The Court Theatre who will develop a contemporary stage show with a theme and context reflecting the key issues affecting young drivers in the region. This year has also seen the sponsored support from Miles Toyota who are providing the touring van.

“Our messages this year are simple really. Your approach to a corner determines the outcome, so we’re hammering home the message that you need to back off your speed when approaching corners, and pushing the boundaries will result in you crossing the centre line as you come out of the corner,” Mr Haymes said. 

“We also want to remind young drivers that the two second rule is crucial for giving yourself a safe distance for reacting and stopping.

“Driving requires 100 per cent concentration, 100 per cent of the time. Young people also need to remember that distracted drivers are dangerous drivers.

"Keeping your eyes on the road, driving phone free, setting your music before start your trip are all crucial to arriving safely at your destination.”

Since the Crash Bash show was reformatted in 2010, there has been a 23 per cent reduction in serious injury crashes involving young drivers in Christchurch city, and a 32 per cent reduction Canterbury wide.

Mr Haymes said continued collaborative work between Christchurch City Council, Police and this year the Court Theatre, provided a great format to continue this messaging to a group of our most vulnerable travelling public.