DRIVING HOME ROAD SAFETY MESSAGES TO YOUNG MOTORISTS
The Edinburgh Reporter was invited to attend part of an event promoting road safety to 6th year pupils at Edinburgh Corn Exchange earlier today. First of all we listened to a very sobering and moving account by Sarah Irvine of her experience when she took off her seat belt for a moment and had a serious accident with her beloved car, George. The shock of this story clearly impacted on the young audience too.
Sarah Irvine said:- “One mistake in not putting my seatbelt on during a short journey led to ten days in high dependency and a life changing experience for me. I lost my dream of swimming competitively and my beloved car was written off. My advice would be, no matter how short the journey or the excuse not to, always wear a seatbelt. Events like these are great to inform young people of what can happen and how things can go wrong in an instant.”
Councillor Lesley Hinds, the Council’s Convener of Transport was at the event and was very enthusiastic about the effect that an event such as this can have:-
We spoke to Chief Superintendent Mark Williams of Police Scotland about the need for the safety message to the young audience:-
The Edinburgh Reporter also met up with an old friend, Dougy Johnstone, who represents Spinal Injuries Scotland. Dougy is in a wheelchair as a result of a motorbike accident, but is positive about the work he does as a Peer Support Manager to help those who suffer life changing spinal injuries getting back to work or going on holiday.
Edinburgh Young Drivers event is at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange for its third year between 10-12 September, aiming to reduce the number of young people killed or injured on our roads.
The event, organised by Streets Ahead is the biggest of its kind in Scotland and all S6 school pupils in Edinburgh have been invited to attend.
In 2011, 17 to 25-year-olds accounted for nearly a quarter of all road casualties in Edinburgh, with young men being the most likely to commit driving offences. New drivers are most at risk in their first year of driving.
This intervention covers the key issues of drink-driving, speeding and wearing seatbelts, with attendees taking part in various activities designed to teach them how to lower their chances of causing or being involved in collisions themselves.
Young people who have been affected by serious incidents will also share their stories, and a hard-hitting play, ’Friends Disunited’, will highlight the potentially life changing consequences of careless driving and peer pressure.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
