RIGHT CHOICES

RIGHT CHOICES - THE REINVENTION 

RECKLESS DRIVING WRECKS LIVES 

Since I have an interest in road safety, because of my own personal experience of being knocked down by a drug and drink driver. Several weeks ago, I went to Reckless Driving Wrecks Lives (RDWL) event held in the Odeon Cinema, Ayr. This is an annual event which has been running since 2005 and is delivered to over 2,000 S5 and S6 secondary students from in and around North, South and East Ayrshire Secondary Schools.

As the cinema began to fill with students, the energy in the room was friendly with small talk and a few bursts of laughter filling the room. As I watched the young students take to their seats, I wondered to myself: “Will this presentation on road safety change anything for them to think twice before going behind a wheel of a car?”

The lights went down and the video began: the students were shown a video of lives affected from a road crash. One angle showed the point of view of a car with 4 youths and the driver under the influence of drugs and alcohol.  The other point of view was from the other car - 1 young lady obeying the rules of road and driving on the same back road as the young driver at night. They are heading towards each other and sadly both cars collide, causing serious injury and death by reckless driving. 

The video was then broken down into stages for the students, played over with talks from various members of emergency services who deal with road traffic collisions. This included road traffic police to fire brigade to the ambulance services and the emergency doctors and nurses to show who offers assistance on the aftermath of serious road traffic accident and treating its casualties. This was all woven back into the above video, between sharing the story of characters and through guest emergency service speakers and how their lives are now changed because of reckless driving. 

Along with this, a gentleman shared his story of being involved in serious road traffic incident and how this life changing experience has affected his life. The other side of a serious road traffic incident was also told through a young man who is currently serving a ten year plus prison sentence over his part in a multiple fatal road crash. 

As the presentation continued with the emergency service speakers, the mood in the cinema changed to silence - the real potential impact of reckless driving was growing among them. Absolute attention was given to the importance message of road safety.

COMMUNITY SAFTEY

As a victim of a serious hit & run accident caused by a drunk and drugged driver, I was moved to tears during the video presentation and its subsequent various speakers. To hear from all of the men and women who help individuals at crash site to those attending hospital to seek medical attention, it was a very humbling experience. Because of someone else’s mistake, these emergency professionals have to go above and beyond their job role to save lives every day, simply because of reckless driving. 

Reckless driving can be prevented. It can be prevented by making the right choices

before going behind the wheel of a car. I know my life changing event could have been prevented if the reckless driver who hit me with his car had thought twice about getting behind the wheel and made the right choice that day.

Just by making the right choice before starting your car - you could save a life on the road. 

The event was informative, moving and inspiring and served to encourage young drivers on the importance of safe driving and to look after one another on the roads as a driver as well as being a good passenger by not distracting the driver’s attention away from the road.

The event closed with the message to be considerate as a driver, to stay safe, do not become another static and not be remembered for something else other than your birthday. 

The purpose of the RDWL initiative is to reduce the numbers of deaths and fatalities caused by road traffic incidents by young, new and inexperienced drivers on the roads of in and around Ayrshire and I want to thank Paul Scully and the Reckless Driving Wrecks Lives team in Ayrshire for inviting me to this inspiring event. 

The lesson from the event: road traffic collision can be prevented by just making the right choices and I know all the students who were at this event heard the message loud and clear. 

Be Safe On The Road, Love Angela x