Be a Wheelmate 2026

Wheelmates get everyone home safe from Leavers. Wherever you’re heading, real mates look out for each other when behind the wheel. Get road ready ahead of your Leavers journey.

Last updated: 2 November 2026

Wheelmates get everyone home safe - a car driving towards the camera with a driver and one passenger, and a red P-plate.

Be a Wheelmate

Leavers is an opportunity for graduating Year 12 students in WA to celebrate the end of school with their friends. Approximately 9,000 students travel to the South West (Busselton, Dunsborough and Vasse) in November for the official WA Police Force Leavers event. This means a significant number of inexperienced drivers are driving regionally for the first time, and often with friends in their vehicle.

This campaign talks to young drivers in the lead up to Leavers to ensure they are road safety prepared.

The Wheelmates campaign aims to instil a positive driving culture and encourage young drivers to develop a sense of shared care and responsibility. It shines a spotlight on the vital role these young drivers play in keeping one another safe and raises awareness of the responsibility they carry for each other on the road.

Be a Wheelmate

Assign a navigator and DJ

Share the drive to fight fatigue

And make sure you and your mates are buckled up, because

Wheelmates get everyone home safe from Leavers.

Campaign objectives

Educate young drivers in the lead up to 2026 Leavers to help them prepare for safer journeys.

Prompt young drivers to download the ‘Leaver’s Checklist’ to get prepared for their journey

Create a sense of shared responsibility between young drivers and passengers in making their journey safer.

Create awareness amongst secondary target audiences, including parents and the wider community, of the importance of road safety during Leaver’s week and to reinforce these messages with young drivers.

Media channel and creatives

The 2026 Be a Wheelmate campaign utilises a mix of statewide media channels, including catch up and connected TV, YouTube, digital audio, social media, digital out-of-home and search advertising.

Additionally, a dedicated website which launched as part of the second campaign burst in 2025, offers learner drivers access to road safety resources, educational content, and an engaging interactive game called The Quest.

See wheelmates.wa.gov.au