A car rolls over at speed and slams to a stop; sirens blare; blades screech as the vehicle is cut open; an injured passenger screams.
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It's part of a Tamworth event that refuses to pull any punches when it comes to keeping young drivers alive on the road, and it's being staged for the 23rd time.
By the time it's over, 1000 year 11 students will have witnessed a road crash scenario that's as near as possible to the real thing.
In it, a teen who's been drinking gives two friends a lift, speeds, fails to make it around a bend, and ends up with one mate seriously injured and the other dead.
It may sound confronting, but leaders of the Young Drivers Expo say they're desperate to get the message through about safe driving.
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They said the story had been used "time and time again" because not only was it realistic, but it was also based on a real incident.
"We set it on Moree Creek Road; we identified that as being an area outside of town where parties can generally happen on properties," Tamworth Regional Council event co-ordinator Crystal Vero said.
"Those year 11 students are most likely going from learner to provisional [licence and] will be attending parties."
NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Brian Lakin said the expo was conceived in 1997 after "a tragic incident [that] happened in Tamworth ... where there were a number of young people in a similar situation to the crash scenario that lost their lives".
He said the emergency services workers of the time, along with other community leaders, were adamant "this should never happen again".
"We didn't want to pull any punches; we're trying to make this as realistic as we can and get the message across in the hope it never happens to these students."
This year, for the first time, retired Tamworth magistrate Mal MacPherson robed up to play in courtroom act of the scenario.
The event continues today and tomorrow at Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre.
Students from Tamworth, Gunnedah, Quirindi, Tenterfield, Scone, Armidale, Moree and Walcha will attend.
The agenda includes workshops, demonstrations and hands-on activities covering heavy vehicles; the police drug unit; drugs and alcohol; safe travelling distances and cornering; brain injuries; and even car insurance.
Carolyn Millet
Based at The Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth, and Namoi Valley Independent, Gunnedah. Covering general news and features on community, council, arts, business, health, education, entertainment and rural matters.
Based at The Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth, and Namoi Valley Independent, Gunnedah. Covering general news and features on community, council, arts, business, health, education, entertainment and rural matters.
