‘Hard-hitting’ road safety message driven home to Orkney students

“The hug of despair” - that’s how Sergeant Simon Hay described the slumping of a parent who has received the devastating news that their child has been killed in a road crash. 

“The smells, the sound of screaming” – ambulance technician, Calum Elder, says those are the things that will stay with you forever. 

Whilst Scottish Fire and Rescue’s Mick Harcus spoke of the silence among the crews on the way to a 999 call-out in the county - unsure of what lies ahead and whether they may know the casualties personally. 

These were some of the thoughts shared with Kirkwall Grammar School, Stromness Academy and Sanday Junior High School 4th and 5th year students during a hard-hitting road safety event – Safe Drive Stay Alive – on Tuesday (17 September) held within The Orkney Theatre. 

The multi-agency event – supported by the Council’s Road Safety Officer, Yvonne Scott - also featured a video presentation from Laura Torrance, of Spinal Injuries Scotland (SIS), sharing her own life-changing experience of being in a road traffic collision. 

Laura was 16 when she was a back seat passenger in a car that veered off the road with an inexperienced, newly passed driver at the wheel. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was thrown 20 yards from the vehicle leaving her with a severe spinal injury that means she will never walk again. 

Laura spent 6 months in hospital, initially in the high dependency unit and then a rehabilitation ward. She doesn’t recall the moment that the news was broken to her and her family that she wouldn’t walk again. 

“My parents and my younger sister who was 12 at the time were at my bedside when we were told that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I don’t remember but apparently, I cried and then made a joke – I suppose trying to use humour to deal with it.” 

Laura now works for SIS sharing her story to try and encourage people to drive more safely. 

“You cannot live your life in fear or never get into a vehicle, but you do need to be aware that it can happen to you, and it does happen to many people.” 

A video road crash scenario was screened during the event showing the pupils what can, and does, happen. 

During the video, presenters took to the stage to share their own experiences as frontline emergency services workers. 

Sgt Hay said even after 16 years’ service, his stomach still churns when a call comes in of a road traffic collision in the county. 

Unfortunately, it isn't always good news. 

“No amount of training with faceless and nameless scenarios can prepare you for the first time you knock on a parent’s door at 3am to tell them their child has died...and every time thereafter. Sometimes I get a hug; the hug of despair as a parent falls on you and you carry their weight. Sometimes I get sworn at and they treat me like it’s my fault. Sometimes people do not react at all. 

“It doesn't stop there, I have to get them to identify their dead child....take a statement...please, do not make me have to do this. Do not make me knock on your parent or guardian’s door. Drive legally, safely, sensibly. Do not take risks, it is not worth it.” 

Calum Elder, has been with the Scottish Ambulance Service for four years and in that time has been called to numerous road traffic collisions – dealing with casualties with minor injuries and those who have died. 

He described the “terrible” decisions that faced them when arriving on scene at a crash that involved multiple casualties and injuries. Decisions that no-one should have to make around who is more likely to live or die. 

“Please do not put us in that position where we have to make life-changing decisions. Have a ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’.” 

Mick Harcus has been with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for 26 years and is a Community Safety advocate. He said: “If you look around this audience there’s probably around 150 of you here – in ten years' time, there will be five less people here as a result of road crashes. 

“Think of yourself, think of your family and friends when you get behind the wheel and drive responsibly.” 

The aim of Safe Drive Stay Alive is to embed the seed of safe and responsible driving to students ahead of beginning their driving journey, and to cut the number of incidents involving young drivers on the county’s roads. 

George, 15, said he is already saving to buy his first car and will be learning to drive as soon as he can after turning 17. 

He said: “It took a lot for the presenters to stand up there and say what they did – I could see they were struggling as well. That had a real impact. They managed to drill it into you. A lot of folk will think that they know better, but it can happen to anyone at any time.” 

Ingrid, 16, is keen for the freedom that learning to drive will give her. 

After the presentation, she said: “I am going to find it easier to tell a driver if I am not comfortable with the way they are driving. It also upset me thinking of how police officers have to tell families when something horrible has happened to their children.” 

Orkney’s Road Safety Strategy to 2030, agreed by Full Council earlier this year, complements the Scottish Government’s Road Safety Framework that seeks to make Scotland’s roads the safest in the world. A key part of the strategy is raising awareness of responsible driving among road users. 

Over a ten-year period – from 2010-2020, the number of people killed on Orkney’s roads totalled 16 and seriously injured was 43. 

Chair of the Orkney Road Safety Forum, Councillor Kristopher Leask, said: “That means 16 families left devastated and dozens more with potentially life-changing impacts because of preventable incidents on our roads. We live in a tight-knit community, and most will know one of those tragic casualties or their family. We see the devastation that road casualties leave in their wake. 

“It’s utterly tragic to know that almost every victim and every casualty need not have happened. That is why our commitment to together making our roads safer is paramount. Events such as the Safe Drive Stay Alive will hopefully be remembered by our young people as they set out on their driving journey. 

“The messaging may be hard hitting, but that’s how we hope to make sure they don’t forget.”