Drive save and stay alive.

By Rory Davidson St. Johns school leatherhead

 

On Monday 9th November, schools gathered from all across Surrey to listen to a harrowing and rightly eye-opening talk on the true danger of driving.

 

The buzz of becoming seventeen and the prospect of driving is an exciting time, with the talk of cars invading every conversation n. But not many naïve seventeen-year olds truly understand the necessity of driving safely. This is where safe drive stay alive comes in.

 

The event started at midday, with flashing lights and pumping music, mirroring the good spirits of all the teenagers packed into the Dorking halls. The room then cascaded into darkness, with the mere laugh and snigger still echoing about the hall.

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A lone police officer emerged from the darkness. And all laughs and smiles faded. This is where the adolescents would finally realise the true horrors of driving dangerously. Accounts were told of young adults, just like those listening in the hall, who had their whole life snatched away before their eyes. All from motor related accidents. According to NSC injury facts, sixteen to nineteen-year olds represent 3.5% of licensed drivers, yet account for 8.9% of drivers in all crashes and 6.0% of drivers in fatal crashes. Proving yet again that young drivers are automatically at risk.

 

Videos were shown next. Gruesome and distressing scenes of the aftermath of road collisions made everyone shrink back in their seat. As some white-faced students had to leave the hall, too troubled by the injuries shown of burn victims, those in comas and those left paralysed. Pupils were left in complete shock and horror. A student stated, ‘I just couldn’t believe it, the possibility that that could be me.’

 

Ambulance workers, firefighters and doctors all followed. Each telling a heart-wrenching story about their experience with road collisions. Each one sticking in their minds. Unable to shake off the horrors they saw which they vividly described to everyone. Each talk mentioning unforgettable sights of blood, bodies and broken bones. And explaining how not only the victim will suffer, but the major collateral pain and grievance that it causes, it’s like a ripple in a pool of water.

 

The last solemn talk was by a man. A man that had suffered.  A man that had suffered in a road accident. He came out in a wheelchair. Clutching a piece of paper and he trembled and stuttered as he spoke. This was the cruel reality of what driving dangerously leads to. His life had crumbled before his eyes at the mere age of 17. This is what happens when you do not understand the dangers of the road.

 

By the end of the event, the whole hall was left suspended in a state of realisation and a deep sorrow, not knowing what to say to one another. But ultimately the event was a success, with recent practical test passer Luke Patterson stating, ‘That really has changed my view on what could happen to me on the roads.’

 

Every 16 minutes, someone is seriously injured or killed in road collisions. Safe drive stay alive promotes safe driving and present the dangers to young drivers who are much more at risk as they lack the experience and understanding of what can and what does happen on the roads and the upmost pain and suffering it causes. So, please drive safe and stay alive.