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Fastlane News
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Karting Creates Car Racers |
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TEEN DRIVER SAFETY PROGRAM |
FASTLANE KARTING EXPLORES TEEN DRIVER SAFETY PROGRAM
The sad fact remains that the one of leading causes of death among Australian teenagers occurs behind the wheel of a car. Too often we are confronted with heartbreaking headlines revealing another horror story of a young person taken too early because of driver inexperience or bad decision making. According to an American survey on teen drivers, the first 1000kms of driving are the most dangerous. During this time, they’re 10 times more likely to crash than an adult. Most of these crashes will be minor accidents but a few won’t be so lucky.
Part of the problem lies in the fact that the modern teenagers are faced with a variety of challenges when they take control of a moving vehicle - Faster roads and cars, having friends and peers as passengers, driver fatigue, modern distractions like mobile phones and MP3 players, and even on-board DVD players can affect the way an automobile is managed on the road. Also, young people are naturally overconfident and young males are particularly prone to risk taking which makes them dangerous to themselves and other people. So the question our community asks is what can we do to minimize the risks teen drivers face?
A local business owner, Dean Choma, director of Austrek Tours and Fastlane Karting, proposes an interesting solution to help our teens become aware of the dangers they face on the road. “There is a lack of inexpensive, targeted driver education programs in our communities,” says Choma. “We need to find a way to engage our teens and make them understand that although driving can be enjoyable, cars are not toys.” Mr. Choma has recently become the owner of Fastlane Karting, a 500 metre outdoor kart track located in Minto, and he is adamant about making safety the first concern on his track. “For many of my young customers, the karts will be the first experience they’ll have with a moving vehicle. We make them understand the importance of safety on the track and we teach them the very basics of driving a car – the importance of seat belts, stopping and going, awareness of their fellow drivers and obeying the rules. And we’ll take away their license if they act up!” Choma, a father himself, believes that although karting is a fun and exciting way to spend an afternoon, it also gives young drivers a safe environment to nurture their driving skills.
Along with the value of driving the karts, Choma foresees the track as a unique opportunity to attract young teens to a community driver awareness course. “We have the perfect facilities on-premise to run a fully qualified driver course for about 40 teens at a time. Part of the difficulty of educating young people on driver safety is getting them to want to attend a driver course.” Choma suggests that an educational program that delivers a very serious message about the dangers of driving and educates teens about the importance of safety on the roads followed by a couple of laps around the track would be the perfect way to attract reluctant teens to a course. “The track, the games and the karts themselves are all attractive to teens. We will have about 50,000 drivers come through this year. A good portion of these drivers will be young adults. It would be great to use these facilities as an incentive to get the safety message across,” says Choma.
FASTLANE KARTING
- Fastlane Karting is a fully operational go-kart facility located on 20 Swettenham Road, Minto. The track is a 500 metre outdoor bitumen track.
- There are a variety of karts available including junior karts for kids between 9-14 and double karts for parents to take children under nine. All karts have been modified to include seat belts, roll cages and bumper bars to ensure maximum safety standards while racing.
- The premises include a family atmosphere arcade with pool table, air hockey, shooting games, Daytona and outdoor seating area with music. The kiosk has drinks, Fast-Lane hot dogs, chocolates and chips.
- There are seating areas with vantage points of the track to enable good photo opportunities. A private area for groups of 20 or more has a BBQ, on site party area with karaoke, sound system and good view of the track.
- Fastlane Karting caters to a variety of groups including kid’s birthday parties, corporate functions and staff days, bucks/hens parties. Groups can book a grand prix style race day complete with prizes for the winners.
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Ive done go karting before when I was younger, I would come down with my older brother. Now my brothers into computers and hasnt got the time anymore, I talked my dad into letting me come down. I love the go karts, the wednesday night races are awesome even in the rain. When Im out there racing around it feels great. I met a few friends which is always a bonus. I would love to work with the go karts because its always been a passion of mine. I think more girls should try it they would really love it as much as I do....ive told my friends and a couple of them will be coming down for the races too.sorry I didnt write back sooner.
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