Gary Duncis Driving School

As far as indigenous training & testing goes, it's now "the end of the line" for me. Have moved on to make way for a younger indigenous person, the first in the On the Right Track service delivery in the APY & MT Lands, Yalata, Coober Pedy & Flinders Ranges regions. Ten years as a contractor has been a big part of my life, amounting to about 2 years away from home. An incredible & amazing journey with indelible memories to last a lifetime! Will miss the comraderie & friendships built up over the journey. I now move on to my next chapter. Still doing training & testing for a little while longer, not "stumps" just yet!

The Driver Training Industry has many concerns over the proposed Labour Government industry reform in its current form. Uncertainty exists about how nervous clients, those with autism & other restrictions will be catered for, if the Competency Based Training & Assessment method of training is withdrawn. Testing in remote locations & at Cadell is another concern with a proposed 40 examiners servicing the whole state?

PROPOSED NEW DRACONIAN DRIVER TRAINING REFORMS TO BE INTRODUCED BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT WITHOUT CONSULTATION & COLLABORATION FROM ALL STAKEHOLDERS!
THESE ARE SOME OF THE CONCERNS?
* Reduction of the number of examiners to conduct driving tests from approx. 170 to 40. (Approx. 50,000 tests during past 12 months),
* Tests to be conducted in government vehicles. (Driving Instructor & students vehicle not allowed, & issues with modified vehicles),
* Privacy concerns re installation of internal facing cameras in driver education vehicles, an additional cost to the driving instructor. Camera footage becomes the property of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. (Uber taxis don't have cameras & which are used by the general public). (Driving instructors are educators. School teachers don't have cameras in their classrooms)?
* Unfair increased powers to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, who now becomes the Judge & Jury. (Nil natural justice for driving instructors).
* Negative public perception that the Driver Training Industry is corrupt, sexually predatory & criminal, fuelled by media releases. Existing rules allow for the Driver Training Industry to report to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles those Driving Instructors who they suspect do not comply with the 'Motor Driving Instructors - Code of Conduct', which have been reported by Driver Instructors in the past. Self regulation already occurs.
NOTE: Also, The Office for Public Integrity exists where public officers which Driving Instructors are, have mandatory reporting obligations, & must report all matters reasonably suspected of involving corruption, or serious or systematic misconduct or maladministration in South Australian public administration, which is handled by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
This reform legislation in its current form, which has already passed through the Lower House of Parliament & in the next 2 weeks to the Uppet House, has the potential to eliminate & shut-down
the Driver Training Industry.
I have been involved in this industry for the past 27 years & I am worried about the future ramifications, to Driver training standards & Road Safety on our roads.
It would be fair if a Select Committee is formed to consider our concerns, which are currently being swept under the carpet.

"What's in a sign?"
What does this sign mean? The accompanying pictures reveal all. OVER DIMENSIONAL DETOUR. Route for transporting large objects, such as wind farm components, that would hinder traffic for lengthy periods of time.

🌟 GRANDDAUGHTER TAKEOVER 🌟

Those who know Gary know he’s often too modest to share nice things about himself!

That’s why I’m taking over to share this article about Gary from Gawler In Photographs.

We are really lucky to have you in our lives, and incredibly proud of the work you do with On the Right Track Remote, and all your driving students, of all ages and abilities. Proud of you, Grandad.

Humans Of Gawler

Gary Duncis - Gary Duncis Driving School

"I love the country life...."

A country boy, Gary was born in Pt Lincoln and lived there until he was 10. His father Ziggy was a new Australian from Riga, Latvia and landed in Australia in 1948. Ziggy initially stayed at a migrant camp in Islington before joining the South Australian Railways (S.A.R.) learning train working, signalling, train operation, air brake safety, and train coupling. Ziggy met his wife Alice in Pt Lincoln and had 3 boys and one girl. With work being a bit restrictive in Pt Lincoln Ziggy was then transferred to Gawler for his own advancement and job opportunities for the kids. Ziggy would work as a train guard on the old red hens but also on the Blue Bird passenger train on the Peterborough country line. As a railway house was not available at the time the family moved to #5 Bacton St at Evanston and lived there for a while before moving on to #9 Elaine St also at Evanston. Gary married at 25 and spent a short time in Gawler East before moving on to Salisbury East.

"I've always been involved with sport...."

Gary attended the old Evanston Primary School and became dux of school in yr 7, 1965. He then attended Gawler High through to 1969. He had a real love for sport, especially Basket Ball and he even fondly remembers a time of thrashing Nuriootpa High, ".. on the court between the woodwork building and the domestic science centre."

"It was easy getting work in those days....."

Gary followed in his fathers footsteps working in the rail industry for South Australian Railways and the Australian National Railways taking on such roles as junior clerk, purchasing officer, OHS officer, quality control officer, depot stores clerk at Peterborough, inspecting railway sleepers (railway ties) at Tailem Bend and Naracoorte, and warehouse manager up until he retired at 45. He worked happily in the industry until it was privatised which then gave Gary the opportunity to work for himself and he decided to become a driving instructor. Whilst he'd never done anything like it before all the skills he learned coaching tennis, basket ball, & even being involved with Apex cemented his decision to take up instructing people how to drive. He's accredited to conduct log book training and authorised to conduct VORT. Catching up with Gary at the time, he was in the process of teaching a 97 year old lady! So he's taught all range of ages and skill sets.

Gary and wife Susanna have been back in Gawler now since 2007 and it was great to come back to some of his old haunts and bumping into old footy and tennis players from back in the day. So he moved to Gawler when he was 10, moved away in 79, and then came back in 07. He certainly has seen a lot of changes but has really embraced the differences and culture we have in our town these days.

He's played a lot of sport here in Gawler. He was first associated with the Railways Tennis club (overway Bridge - Mrs Ireland and Sachse were the coaches), Gawler High School Basketball Club, The Gawler Lions (They were the foundation club who became Central Districts Lions Basketball Club), and played aussie rules for the South Gawler Football Club (back when the club rooms were on Fourteenth St).

"I'm not one to sit on my hands and I'm always looking for opportunities....."

Gary is now training indigenous people to drive in the APY lands. He was approached to teach people coming to Adelaide from the APY lands and Northern Territory through Wiltja Boarding. As you can imagine, driving around Adelaide is vastly different to driving around the APY lands. An advert came up with an opportunity to teach in the APY lands and Gary jumped at the chance. His experience with Wiltja and the fact he can both test and train meant he was very valuable to conduct the tests in the lands. He'll travel as far as Pipalyatjara with is 1,824 k's away in the north western corner of SA. The program has progressed now seeing him visit places like Ceduna, Oak Valley, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Mimili, and Coober Pedy. Its all part of the On the Right Track Remote program and whilst it can be a long way to go for just one student sometimes, it's always very rewarding.

Over the 10 years Gary has been involved with the program the percentage of individuals getting their licence has risen from 15% to 45% increasing threefold.

"It really is making a difference to each community..."



Don't forget, a different version of this post appears in The Bunyip Newspaper this week.

An important Road Safety Message in Victoria, highlighting one of the Fatal five reasons for crashes. In 2023 Victoria recorded in excess of 220 fatalities & in South Australia over 110. It is more than just road conditions, it's got a lot to do with poor decision making & not driving to the conditions.

I came across this poem that was given to me in the distant past, and I'd like to share it with you now.
The terrible crash statistics this year in South Australia are concerning. Drink/drug driving is one of the Fatal 5 reasons why deaths occur on our roads.
A crash, where someone has made the wrong decision (reasons could be - speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, not driving to the conditions or driving when tired), is avoidable. An accident, where someone may be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps an innocent bystander, is unavoidable. As a passenger SPEAK UP IF UNCOMFORTABLE! Get a taxi home, get Mum or Dad to pick you up, have a sleepover.

Congratulations to "Jason" on gaining his Provisional Licence. The smile tells us all about what this meant to him. He worked extremely hard over a long period of time, developing his concentration and hazard identification techniques, and confidence. An inspiration to others for his effort and determination, and not losing sight of his life goals! I wish him well on his future endeavours. GO JASON!

Road Safety is Everyone's responsibility.
I was involved this week as a facilitator at the Nuriootpa, sporting complex to present the
Rotary (RYDA), a road safety education program, equipping young people with the knowledge to stay safe on our roads. Students attending were from Nuriootpa,Tanunda & Kapunda. With the help of another driving instructor we guided the students thro' the session "Speed & Stopping", covering the ANCAP safety rating system, car safety features, including seatbelts, tyres, maths & physics re stopping, braking distance at 40 & 60kph & striking a dummy in a 60kph, safe following distance & summary/quiz. A most rewarding experience.

Driving has always been in my blood. My first car, a peddle car, from many years ago!
The sooner you start the better! Just to develop co-ordination & correct steering grip.