Vision Australia held an event at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday 23rd May 2015 in memory of Angus Suttor, who had a rare condition called Von Recklinghausen’s which left him blind at the age of 10 and also with a hearing impairment. Angus loved motorsport and was a big fan of the V8 Supercars, he attended the ‘In the Driver’s Seat’ event held in Melbourne each year and it was his dream to create a similar event in Sydney.
The Angus Suttor Drive Day created the once in a lifetime opportunity for over 60 blind or visually impaired people to get behind the wheel and experience driving. Onroad Driving School and Academy of Road Safety supported the event, supplying 8 vehicles and driving instructors to run the day out on the track.
Happened last Saturday at Eastern Creek Raceway, people who were blind had an experience to drive dual controlled cars around the circuit at speeds up to 100km per hour. For many of them, this will be the first time they ever drive a car. It was only happened with generous support from Onroad Driving School Sydney, Sydney Motorsport Park, The American Motorcycle Club and Hayabusa Club, Vision Australia and The Suttor Family.
Ronak Shah, Founder of Onroad Driving School, had this to say after the event ‘Driving is a big part of everyone’s lives and is taken for granted by majority of us. It is amazing to see how much the opportunity to drive can mean to someone who has never been able to get into the driver’s seat previously. We have to thank Vision Australia, the Suttor family, Sydney Motorsport Park and everyone else who made the day possible, it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to deliver this experience’.
The drives were completed in a learner driver vehicle fitted with dual controls and a licensed driving instructor with speeds reaching in excess of 100km/h. After the drives, participants also went for a motorbike pillion rides with the American Motorcycle Club and Hayabusa Club and hot rod car rides.
This was the second running of the Angus Suttor Drive Day so keep out in 2016 for the next Angus Suttor Drive Day and get in touch with Vision Australia if yourself or someone you know would like to participate in 2016.