CCRSA Hosts Romance for Road Safety fundraiser

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The month of love is far from over here in Caledon, and the Caledon Community Road Safety Advocacy (CCRSA) Group celebrated by honouring their passion for road safety with their recent fundraiser.

Their event, Romance for Road Safety, was not only to raise awareness of road safety in the community but also to support their fundraising efforts to rent advanced driving simulators for all high schools in Caledon.

The driving simulator is a chance for all drivers, new and experienced, to experience various hazardous road conditions and gain experience from the safety of the simulator.

Drivers can experience what it's like to drive beside trucks, inside trucks, next to snow plows, and more.

CCRSA brought these simulators to community events all summer long to raise awareness and hopes to bring them into Caledon high schools in partnership with Caledon OPP.

Not only that, but the group also plans to bring in a driving school and insurance professionals, alongside the OPP, to cover all aspects of road safety with these students.

The group wants to start safe driving at the beginning, when young drivers are just getting out onto the roads.

Their fundraising event was held on February 21 at Caesar's Centre in Bolton, and the Caledon community showed their love for the CCRSA, with the event selling over 100 tickets.

“I'm very, very happy with this community,” says CCRSA member Franca Pisani, looking around the room that night. “This is what Caledon is all about.”

Carmela Palkowski from CCRSA says that even that morning people were calling to see if they could still purchase tickets.

“We were here setting up, and we added more, and we kept on adding more, it's really nice.”

CCRSA member Amanda Corbett says putting together the fundraiser itself was a “whirlwind,” with the group planning it just a few short weeks before the event.

Pisani noted that when it comes to advocacy for road safety, there is not much available in terms of funding and grants, and so they landed on holding their own fundraiser.

The experience these driving simulators provide is not the same as what is learned in the classroom, she adds, especially when driving around trucks. Young drivers can see firsthand truck drivers' blind spots and stopping abilities in simulators.

“We're hoping that this is going to be the beginning of something really good,” says Corbett.

The evening continued with a night of music and dancing, and silent auction prizes donated from local businesses, wrapping up an event full of support from Caledon.