31 Jul 2017
Aust-link Driving Course
On behalf of the Coomealla High School students who participated in the Young Drivers program held at Aust-Link. in the holidays, we would like to thank the Wentworth and District Community Bank for providing us with the opportunity and covering the cost of the course.
Our driving instructors John and Greg were exceptionally helpful in teaching us the correct driving habits and they made our experience very enjoyable. On the first day at Aust-Link, John and Greg taught us a variety of different tips and techniques, such as learning how to take off in a manual without stalling, how to parallel park and most importantly, how to position your hands on a steering wheel. We learnt how to park in different positions, do a three-point turn, dodge cones and how to do a hand break start in a manual on a slight hill. We also got to reverse through the cones.
During the course, we got to drive both automatic and manual cars. Between the six of us, only a few had ever driven a manual before and by the end of the driving course we were all able to do so without a problem.
On the second day at Aust-link we got to practise over taking each other. We were shown how far to stay behind another vehicle and how to come to a complete stop if there is any chance of collision or danger.
Later in the day John flooded the road with water and we had to drive at 50 kph through it and brake as hard as we could. This showed us how far and long it takes to come to a complete stop.
At Aust-link they have goggle's that make you feel and see what it's like to be three times over the legal limit of alcohol in your system.
As the day come to an end we all thanked John and Greg for having us and they said that they are always happy to take Coomealla students as we are always well behaved and previous students have established a good reputation.
Overall it was a good experience. We all learnt different techniques while driving and we all would highly recommend for everyone to give it a go as you'll benefit from it. We would also like to acknowledge Ted O'Shannessy for organising the driving course for us and coming to visit us in his own time at the Aust-link driving track.
By: Belah & Brianna