MAKING the difference between life and death on rural roads, Griffith born-and-bred Sandro Coledan developed AAA Driving School in a bid to make a positive impact.
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Mr Coledan had his first official student on July 1, and now boasts over 85 enrolled students and 160 driving lessons completed.
And with Rural Road Safety Month now in the rear vision mirror, Mr Coledan took a look under the bonnet to explain why regional driving can be so dangerous.
"I was aware of bad road users before, but nowhere near as aware as I am now after teaching people how to drive," he said.
"The impatience and behaviour of some of the road users out there is unbelievable. A lot of people need to just come for a lesson, not even learners."
Rural road fatalities made up two thirds of last year's national road toll, and the Australian Road Safety Foundation found that one in five people confessed to being more likely to break a road rule in rural areas.
Being appalled by the statistics, Mr Coledan sought training from an ex-policeman in Goulburn and became an accredited instructor, attempting to make a positive turn for regional driving.
"For me it's about being able to provide training, it's a rewarding feeling," Mr Coledan said.
"Taking a nervous student from someone who couldn't turn a steering wheel to someone who can confidently go around roundabouts, do multi-lane changes and reverse park, no money can give you that reward.
"It's about the joy of seeing them become a confident, highly-skilled, low-risk driver."
Mr Coledan has also recently added two new Suzuki vehicles to his fleet, one manual and one automatic, both five-star ANCAP safety rated.
The Australian Government-funded Keys2Drive program has also provided a strong positive impact for regional road users, Mr Coledan says.
"It offers students a one-off free lesson and it's for a safer driving initiative," he explained.
"I think it's a great idea."
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