08 Aug 2018 Seymour Telegraph, Seymour VIC (General News) Vehicles abandoned on freeways and highways in Victorias north-east are being donated to the State Emergency Service for training. The partnership between VicRoads and VICSES will see unclaimed vehicles put to good use in a range of rescue simulations. Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said the vehicles would be used by road crash units across the region, including Seymour, so volunteers could learn valuable skills such as how to access road crash victims quickly and remove them safely. During training, teams use the cars to practice with shears, known as the jaws of life, spreaders, air bags and a range of other equipment. These nuisance cars, which might otherwise be turned into scrap metal, can now help to improve our volunteer training, and ultimately help us save lives on Victorian roads, VICSES north-east regional manager Keith OBrien said. Abandoned vehicles that are removed from arterial roads and unclaimed after all reasonable attempts to contact the owner, including a 14-day written notice period, may then be legally acquired by VicRoads pursuant to the Road Management Act 2004. In the past VICSES struggled to find modern vehicles to practice on and train volunteers. Were glad to play a small role in helping our SES volunteers train and protect our community and ultimately save lives, Ms Symes said. Putting these unclaimed vehicles to good use makes sense, rather than ending up on the scrap heap, these vehicles will be used to train our hardworking SES volunteers.