National transport lobby organisationNatRoad has along with St Johns Ambulance for won new funding to expand and improve the now almost two year old online Truckie First Aid program.
NatRoad been linked with venerable first aid organisation, St John Ambulance in October 2023 in a partnership that created the online First Aid training program for truck drivers in October 2023, which has resulted in more than 1500 drivers completing the free, online Truckie First Aid program.
The organisations have now announced new funding has been secured to translate the Truckie First Aid into multiple languages to help even more drivers to develop life-saving first aid skills.
According to NatRoad support has come from Australian Government, via its National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) as part of its Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).
Acting executive director of corporate affairs for the NHVR, Steve Smith, said NatRoad is one of 16 grantees to receive funding as part of a $4.4 million investment towards HVSI projects.
“The delivery of NatRoad’s project will contribute towards making Australia’s roads safer for all users,” Smith said.
The CEO of NatRoad, Warren Clark, confirmed the importance of the program to NatRoad members.
“Every day there are thousands of trucks on our roads across the country, including regional and some very remote stretches of road. Truck drivers are often first on the scene of an accident, when every second counts,” said Clark.
“The NHVR funding will allow the online first aid training to be translated into multiple languages. This will make it easier for drivers with English as their second language to complete the training and be confident in what they learn, while reducing barriers to taking the course in the first place,” he added.
“I’d like to thank the NHVR for its support in extending this life-saving training to even more truck drivers.”
NatRoad claims that the program combines best practice training principles, with knowledge and skills drawn from the DRSABCD First Aid action plan, and makes them accessible through a free, online learning tool tailored to the audience.
Chief operating officer of St John Ambulance Australia, Adrian Watts, said he was involved in the development, and acknowledges the significance of the program.
“Courses like this allow us to get First Aid knowledge and skills into the hands of our Australian public in a practical way that relates to their daily work and lifestyle.,” Watts said.
According to NatRoad the Truckie First Aid is a free training that takes 30-40min, is available online to everyone, everywhere, even on your phone at a rest stop
