Dying to Drive

Dying to Drive

Losing a child, mother, friend, relative or neighbour is an unimaginable experience. We all deal with loss in our own way but witnessing it first-hand is a level of its own. Luckily, I have never had to experience loss through driving but there are millions of people of out there that have.

During high school is the time children are beginning to feel the hype about learning to drive. You are 15, thinking about your first car and all the new places you will be able to go. Learning to drive should be a milestone, an exciting and novel experience for any youngster, but being unexperienced on the road can be life threatening.

I am currently 21 and passed my theory and practical driving test first time. I have been driving on the roads for nearly 4 years, but I will never forget the memories and experiences that I have witnessed that stayed with me when I was learning to drive. I was 15, in secondary school, and was taken on a school trip to a fire station. Both year 10 and year 11 visited this fire station and involved in various activities, workshops and demonstrations about driving. We spoke to a policewoman who had seen many fatal traffic collisions, learned the basics of first age and watched various promotional videos associated with the dangers of driving; speeding, using your mobile phone and the effect of passengers in the car. Yes, I remember attending the workshops were memorable and made an impact on me for a few years. However, the demonstration at the end of the day has stayed with me and will stay with me for as long as I life.

A large concrete area surrounded with police tape stood before a sea of anxious and nervous 15-year olds. We were stood back, well away from any danger that was about to happen. In front of us, two overturned cars, depicting the scene of a traffic collision that has just happened. All was quiet to begin with, when a leader from the station briefed us on what was about to happen, nothing could prepare me for what I was about to witness. All people that were involved in the “crash” were actors but you couldn’t tell, it was like I was a police officer on the scene of a crash on a large motorway; which is the likely reason I have never forgot that experience. The leader had finished briefing us, when speakers all around me shouted out noises of screeching cars, a crash and smashing glass. One car was upturned with one person inside, he had been driving too fast and was crawling out of the upside-down Ford Focus. In the other car, two young girls, both with life-like cuts all over their faces and arms. The next 5 minutes were the most emotional, harrowing and unforgettable moments of my life. The man in the overturned car escaped the car, feeling sore, confused and guilty. He ran over to the car opposite, trying to find signs of life within. One girl, the driver, began to show signs of movement, as the slightly dazed driver of the Ford helped of the very battered vehicle. A police car drove around the corner of the station with sirens, flashing lights and once parked, two police officers got out of the car. Suddenly, the young girl ran to the other side of the car and tried to awake a very lifeless and unconscious passenger. Shaking her shoulders and searching for any signs of life, she knew that there was no chance of waking this innocent young girl. Screams of pain and sadness filled the air, sending shivers throughout my entire body. I was uncomfortable and emotional, and it was difficult to watch as a young 15-year-old girl. Some students turned away, no longer wanting to witness the very convincing scenes before them. I kept watching, as tears began to fill my eyes. I have never met these people in my life before, but it felt like I knew their story, and despite being actors, I realised in that moment that this is happens every single day. The screams continued for what felt like a lifetime. The mood was tense and even when the scene had ended, no student spoke or showed any true emotion other than shock for the next hour.

We returned to the bus and even though our teacher was briefing us on the route of the journey back, or typical teacher duties asking if we had been to the toilet or not, I was still running through the events that I had just witnessed. Those images stuck with me on the journey back, whilst I was learning to drive and into adult hood. That day truly changed my whole perspective on driving, and the way I was going to respect the road I would one day drive on.

I think it is imperative that all young people approaching the driving age, should be exposed to a similar kind of experience that I went through. It is frightening and sometimes not easy to watch, and of course it would totally be up to the parents and child themselves if they want to witness that kind of scene. However, I do believe this experience has made me a safer and more cautious driver, guaranteed, most of my fellow classmates would have felt the same. That experience truly taught the principles and importance of being a safe driver.

I wouldn’t want anyone else to feel the loss of a loved one through dangerous driving, and I can’t bare to imagine the pain I would go through if it happened to me. It doesn’t cost anything to be a safe driver but being a dangerous driver could cost the lives of someone else.