The JBoys Story – Saving Young Lives Through Roadcraft Education

This is a true story both about loss and hope; one family’s trauma and their incredible legacy in honour of their son, Jimmy.

Jimmy Bryant and his family lived in Tin Can Bay, he and his older sister both attending St. Patrick’s College in Gympie.  Every year at St Pat’s college, the Year 11 students are sent to Roadcraft Driver Education to complete their student driver course. Whilst Jimmy’s older sister, had the opportunity to attend during her school year, Jimmy did not have the opportunity when Jimmy’s mum had been transferred to Biloela in her job as a paramedic, relocating the family. 

At Biloela High, they facilitated a seminar where emergency services personnel provided a presentation on the ‘why’ it’s important to drive safe, however they didn’t emphasise on the information on ‘how’ to drive safe.

In February 2016, when Jimmy had only had his P1 licence for 10 days, he was in a tragic car crash driving four of his mates through a short-cut on a dirt road. Fortunately, all his passengers survived however, Jimmy’s life was tragically taken.

Heartbroken, Jimmy’s parents Barb and Tony, made contact with Roadcraft to outline their plan. They were impassioned to do some good in the community so that Jimmy’s death would not be in vain, and they knew Roadcraft’s course was invaluable.

They formed JBOYS Inc. (Jimmy Bryant’s Outback Youth Support) to raise money for senior Biloela High School students so that they were able to attend the Student Driver Course here at Roadcraft.

Talking to people like Barb and Tony drives a very strong message to a fellow parent of young drivers which is that road trauma statistics are indeed NOT statistics. They’re not numbers. They’re real people with names and personalities and lives yet to live, but whose lives have been cut tragically short. They are so greatly missed by their families and friends.

We were in awe of what Barb wanted to do and she has worked tirelessly to get 10 busloads of Biloela High kids to Roadcraft in four years (either fully funded or heavily subsidised). This is a nine-hour round trip. The lives potentially saved by JBOYS’ efforts is immeasurable because the potential of Roadcraft to save lives is exponential. You might think it saves the drivers’ lives, but this definitely extends to their passengers and other road users too.

We have so much respect for Barb that, amidst her all-encompassing grief, she did such powerful things to make right. We hope we can continue the relationship for many years to come.

One of the reasons why we wanted to share Jimmy’s story is that it’s not just us here at Roadcraft who think that effective education is pivotal in reducing road trauma. One day, CEO Sharlene and OM Glen had stopped at the Caboolture service station on their way down to Brisbane when a couple had seen the Roadcraft signage on their car. They took the time out to seek them out and say how much they valued our course for their young son, who had been able to complete a Roadcraft course with the help of JBOYS. This sort of feedback makes us pretty darn proud of what we do and keeps us motivated to continue doing the arduous work of creating real change in driver education. We would love, and hope one day, that Roadcraft won’t be an optional extra so that there are no more stories like Jimmy’s.

If you would like to show your support or find out more about JBOYS and the amazing work that Barb and Tony do for our young adults, click here: https://www.jboys.org.au/ and be sure to follow them on Facebook here https://m.facebook.com/jboysinc/ and Instagram @jboys_inc

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