“Breaking the news of a fatal road crash to a loved one is worse than attending the incident”

Knocking on a door, knowing that the news you are about to share is going to shatter lives, has been a reality on too many occasions for former police officer and recently re-elected Orkney Councillor, David Dawson.

Besides having investigated fatal road crashes in his earlier career, for the last ten years of his police service, he worked as a family liaison officer, with cases ranging from air crashes, drugs deaths, murder and fatal road crashes - not all in Orkney he points out.

“In 1981 I transferred from the Isle of Skye to Fort William, where in the first six weeks I attended and reported on three separate fatal crashes on the A82 Glasgow to Inverness trunk road. Sadly, many more were to follow.”

They all stand out but, one perhaps more so than others.

“During my time in the Isle of Lewis when I was stationed in a rural beat between Stornoway and Tarbert I came to know a local gamekeeper quite well, so it was with shock that I was called out one night to a single vehicle crash a few miles away.

“On arrival, I recognised the car which had left the road after hitting black ice, as belonging to this chap. He had been killed instantly and I then had the task of breaking the terrible news to his wife. As any police officer will tell you, that was worse than having to deal with the actual incident itself.

“One has to be professional and subvert any emotion or anger. However, such incidents help make one evaluate your own life and how precious it and those of others really are. Police officers are as human and empathetic as anyone else.”

The impact on those left behind and the wider community, particularly in a place such as Orkney is immense, Councillor Dawson continued.

“The family impact never quite leaves them – they may learn, with time, to cope with their loss, but the pain remains and when that is brought about by carelessness, recklessness or misuse of alcohol or other substances – in other words an ‘avoidable crash’ – the pain is even more acute.

“The onward impact can be even more difficult in a small community especially where a survivor of a collision that caused the death of another person is the one responsible. Not only does that person have to live with their guilt but they are likely to face the deceased’s loved ones on maybe quite a regular basis. Fatal crashes don’t simply result in the destruction of one precious life and the emotional damage to his/her family but can also ruin a survivor’s life too – moreover if they are the one to blame.”

Councillor Dawson was recently elected Chair of the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee, and he believes the Committee and the Council has a significant role to play in road safety.

“Everything from education aimed at the youngest of drivers to engineering solutions to minimise speeding whilst working in partnership with Police Scotland and other services has to come into play. Like all elected members, I have a duty of care to the people we serve, and I will do everything I can to help safeguard lives and prevent families from having to undergo the pain and trauma I have all too often witnessed.”