The latest

54/ COMMUNITY NEWS 56/ CHANGING GEARS 59/ MOTORBIKE SAFETY

61/ MEMBER REWARDS 65/ PUZZLES 66/ REAR VIEW community

Learning to respect the road

Road safety begins with safe drivers. We pride ourselves on teaching our students not only how to drive and obtain their licence, but to respect the road and the dangers it can present. “Our Hobart centre opened in March 2013 with just four instructors. In our first month we had 286 bookings, which kept us on our toes,” says Motoring Services Operations Specialist Jane Anning. “Since then, not only have we grown in size, we’ve also grown our service offering. We now have 20 instructors across the state, three of whom have been with us since the start.”

P For more, see overleaf or visitract.com.au/cars-and-driving/driver-training

the latest.

From humble beginnings

RACT’s learner driver program is expanding.

Recently, we’ve been fortunate to take our lessons to regional areas including Queenstown, St Helens and Campbell Town, to teach students who may not have had the chance otherwise. “With the growth of the driving school we’re able to help more and more learners and provide professional lessons in locations where historically this was not possible,” says Motoring Services Operations Specialist Jane Anning.

“Not only can we guide our students through their entire journey to sit their P1 assessments with us, we can also teach their supervisors a safe learning approach by offering examples on how to practice at home through the Keys2drive program,” she says.

We’re also involved in the Driving for Jobs program. This offers students aged 16–19 in participating schools the opportunity to attain a Provisional Driving Licence and/or improve their skills relating to driver education and road safety. This means students not only have the capacity to get to and from future employment, but it also opens more opportunities. “We’re making a difference in the lives of these young people, heading to Jordan River Learning Federation, Claremont College, Newstead College and Launceston College.

“It’s a great benefit not only to the students but the instructors who get a lot of satisfaction also in helping these students become safe drivers. We’re really having an impact on all Tasmanians.” And the journey doesn’t stop after a licence has been given. In fact, to be a really safe driver requires life-long learning – vehicles change, rules change, roads change, we change. “We have a lot of older drivers who come to see us for ‘a drive’ to brush up on their skills, but some who are very scared about having to sit an assessment themselves. These are our members who not only entrust their children and grandchildren with us but trust us to help them when they really need it.”

To find out more about all of the Driver Training services available, or to book a lesson, visit ract.com.au

YOUR BOARD Ralph Doedens, South Arm

The best thing about being on the board is… the people. There’s a variety of people on the board, very diverse in terms of their backgrounds and characters. I really enjoy the different perspectives, and how we’re all able to share our views without any fear of being shouted down. Your biggest goal for RACT is… [to be] number-one for customer service. Well, we are number-one in Tasmania, I believe. We want to retain that but improve on it. We should never sit still. We can be the reliable organisation that people turn to when they need the services we provide. Your favourite place to holiday in Tasmania is… the east coast – Coles Bay. It’s the beaches, the quiet, the nature, the beauty. My favourite thing about Tasmania is… the isolation, the smallness and community. Having lived in Sydney for 18 years, I

About the RACT Board

The role of the RACT Board is to listen to members and to work towards implementing strategies that will best deliver on their need – this could be anything from products and service improvements all the way to advocating for the safety and security of all Tasmanians.

Our Board plays a significant role in helping the organisation achieve amazing things for our members and the Tasmanian community. The Board is also responsible for ensuring the organisation runs effectively and efficiently and in compliance with our complex regulatory environment. Australian law imposes numerous duties and obligations on directors and there are potentially severe penalties in place if obligations aren’t met. This is why it is important that RACT directors have the necessary skills really appreciate being down here for the relaxed nature and the way people know each other. What brought you back here? My children – having three girls and wanting them to grow up somewhere that was better for them. In Tasmania they can wander around in the street, play in the bush, all the things I did as a kid, without problems. If you could describe our island in three words… Scenic, peaceful, friendly. Something people may not know about you is… I keep goats. They’re great, they have so much character. We’ve got 25 acres so need to keep the grass down, and they’re good at doing that. Outside of RACT… I’m involved in the Supported Affordable Accommodation Trust, which we set up to build homes for vulnerable Tasmanians, mainly people with a disability.

and experience to ensure RACT’s and the RACT Board’s responsibilities are met.

Each director stands for election by RACT members every three years and while it’s not a requirement, we’re proud that our member-elected directors live or work throughout all regions of Tasmania. Over the years members have overwhelmingly supported the return of existing directors within elections, which we believe is a sign of the trust and support our members have for RACT’s governance and the resultant services and our advocacy on members’ behalf. The board also has a strong history of gender equality with at least 50% of our Board being women over the majority of the last 10 years,

50% including our current President and Viceof our board have been President. women for the majority In our almost 100 of the last 10 years. year history the look of our Board and the roles of our directors has changed dramatically. In the past, a council of 16 directors focused heavily on advocacy with a smaller executive committee tasked with handling the oversight of RACT’s businesses. Over the years with the increasing complexity of RACT’s businesses and the related regulatory environment, RACT’s governance structures have been streamlined to ensure the appropriate level of skills and experience are present throughout the Board, reducing the number of directors on the RACT Board to nine and introducing maximum terms for directors and other best practice corporate governance measures.