Emma’s taste of freedom- From left, Kay Glendhill (volunteer/mentor), Emma Quinn (learner), Richard Roach (manager Bendigo Bank Kooweerup), Toby Sargent (program co-ordinator). 62985

By Justin Robertson
LIKE any 18-year-old who has just passed their driving test, Emma Quinn has spent most of the past few weeks being a taxi for her friends.
A road trip might be on her radar in the near future, but at the moment the Lang Lang resident is just as happy to be behind the wheel.
She’s the first driver to get her licence under the new Learner Driver Mentor Program, a VicRoads initiative funded by the State Government that assists learners under the age of 21 who do not have access to a supervising driver or vehicle to gain the mandatory 120 hours of on-road driving experience required to get a probationary licence.
The program matches the learner driver with a fully licensed mentor and during the weekly lessons, they use a sponsored vehicle to go from A to B.
Emma honed her driving skills thanks to her mentor Kaye Glendhill since October last year, driving from Lang Lang to all parts of Pakenham once a week for two hours practicing u-turns, three-point turns and the dreaded parallel park.
“She taught me all of her driving techniques which were really helpful to pass the test and I was really glad someone was able to sit with me in the car all those hours – she was really helpful,” Emma said. “During our lessons she took me all around the Cardinia area and just before my test for my licence we drove into the city and back.”
Toby Sargent, the co-ordinator for the Cardinia Shire Program who works for the Kooweerup Regional Health Service, said there are now two drivers who have completed the program and have gone on to claim their probationary licence.
“It’s fantastic, because where we are there’s not a great deal of public transport,” he said. “So for kids that don’t have their licence and can’t get anywhere they are relying on it. It’s such a difference to be able to give these kids independence.”
“It’s just a great initiative for those who can’t afford to get lessons or don’t have a car,” he said.
Mr Sargent reassured the public that mentors who were chosen to instruct the learner drivers had to undergo a series of background and licence checks as well as completing a VicRoads compulsory mentor training program run over a three-week period.
Kaye Glendhill – a former Scout leader – started mentoring Emma in October last year and went through a mentor-training period before hopping in the car.
“We are not teaching them, as an instructor would, we are giving them support and helping them through situations – we mentor, not instruct,” she said. “I felt very excited when Emma got her licence and I felt I helped her become a good driver.”