bstreetsmart safety event goes national
Westmead Hospital’s sold-out road trauma prevention program goes national as it enters its 22nd year.
Bstreetsmart started more than 22 years ago with Westmead Hospital trauma nurses, Stephanie Wilson and Julie Seggie, desperately searching for a way to keep our kids safe.
Tired from treating young people with horrific and life-altering injuries, they hosted a road safety talk for teens in 2004, highlighting the impact of road trauma.
Realistic and raw, the nurses invited 10 local schools to help explain what happens to you, or your loved ones, in a road accident.
Back then, 17–25 year-olds made up nearly 20 per cent of the state’s road fatalities.
More than twenty years later, that figure has halved to just 9.6 per cent for 2025.
“Originally it was a group of nurses, a couple of doctors, and ambulance officer, and we developed a program called Trauma Week,” Julie said.
The success of the annual event, now delivered with the support of Transport for NSW and partners from all emergency services and agencies, is hooked on is being much more than an educational day, but a range of activities for school students to engage with.
The day begins with a crash re-enactment, where actors simulate, in real time, what happens from the scene of a car crash to administering care.
Real police officers and emergency workers narrate the scene, offering insight into their thoughts and considerations when attending a road accident.
Students also hear from crash survivors who have sustained permanent injuries, turning their adversity into advocacy as they demonstrate how life can change in an instant.
“Some people are a little bit naive, and they think ‘it won't happen to me’, but everyone's on the road so we all have some responsibility to make sure that we're safe,” Julie said.
Rachel Watkins is a Westmead trauma nurse, eager to expand the program to regional and rural areas.
This year, bStreetsmart is launching Let’s Talk, a school-based incursion program that delivers road safety education directly to classrooms across Australia.
The additional module allows schools from regional and rural areas to engage with the same effective road-safety teachings without travelling to Sydney for the event.
“Westmead Hospital’s sees road trauma victims every week from the areas Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst. We want to reach as many people as possible with these important teachings,” Rachel said.
With a sold-out crowd of more than 30,000 kids from more than 250 schools, the wheels are well and truly turning towards positive change.
