Mock road crash aimed at driving home road safety message

Emergency services in Orkney will be dealing with a mock road crash on Kirkwall’s Broad Street on Saturday 2 July as part of driving home a hard-hitting road safety message.

Although this scenario will be staged for the public to come along and witness a “casualty” being removed from a damaged vehicle, the scene and the onward ramifications is all too familiar for some.

Orkney’s Area Commander, Chief Inspector Ali Garrow said: “One of the first facts established is if the accident could have been averted. Ninety per cent of all accidents are human error and the most common age for people to be killed is males aged from their late teens to early 20s. Lives lost much too soon, and families and friends left devastated forever.

“More often than not, the causes of road traffic crashes can be broken down to ‘the fatal five’ - dangerous/careless driving; speeding, seatbelt offences, mobile phone offences and drink and drug driving.

“Read those again – every single one is preventable and down to personal choice. Time and again we have to pick up the pieces – quite literally – at the scenes of serious and fatal road crashes. When this happens in Orkney, the emergency personnel often know those involved - it is incredibly challenging for them also. Having to break devastating news to loved ones is one of the hardest parts of our job. We watch people’s lives change forever.

“Our message is clear - do not get into a car with a drink-driver or with someone under the influence of drugs, or with someone who drives irresponsibly.

“If you are that person who takes risks, you may get away with it for so long but eventually it will catch up with you – whether in terms of the police or because of a road crash – you may take your own life or the lives of others.”

The public are encouraged to come along to Broad Street from 9.30am to watch the emergency services at work – including the Police, Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

At 11am the Fire Service personnel will remove a “casualty” from a vehicle behind safety barriers put in place by the Council’s roads team. Robbie Fraser will give a narration of what is happening during the vehicle extracation.

A first-hand account of what a life-changing road crash means will be given during a talk by Laura Torrance from Spinal Injuries Scotland.

Laura was just 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.

“I sat up not thinking about the potential for a spinal injury. It felt as though my legs weren’t attached but when I looked down, they were there,” Laura said.

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.

“I do remember feeling like I had extreme pins and needles in my legs and that gave me a sense of hope that something may come back – I suppose I didn’t want to give up hope. As time passed there was a gradual acceptance that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

“I would cry because I couldn’t do the things my friends were doing. Dad would cry with me – seeing him cry was the worst. My mum was devastated but it was like she stepped up and found this extra strength to try and keep everyone else strong. I had a conversation with my big little sister recently which was very emotional. She had really been passed around to other family members at the time of my accident as my parents’ focus had been on me. I had thought she was ok, but she missed out on a year of her life because of what happened. It was hard to hear.”

Her hopes of being a hairdresser and beautician were also dashed for it was simply too physically demanding. However, after a spell volunteering with the Spinal Injuries Unit she was offered a job as a Peer Support Co-ordinator for Spinal Injuries Scotland covering the Glasgow area. It is this work and sharing her story that is bringing her to Orkney for the event.

“My best friend, Peter, warned me not to get in the car all those years ago but I didn’t listen. He knew the driver would be showing off. I said it will be fine as you think it will never happen to you – but it did.

“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. I have provided peer support to many others with spinal injuries and will continue to do this as accidents- many preventable – still go on.”

Asked if she feels resentment towards the driver, she said: “At first not really, we even had nights out in among groups of friends. Then the anger set in as I realised how challenging my life was but I don’t have that anger anymore. I like to think I am now kinder, more patient and more appreciative of my family and friends. The driver moved away from our area many years ago as he could not cope, he was on anti-depressants. This affects everyone in different ways. Lives have been thrown into turmoil by one stupid act of showing off.”

The public can also expect to see a CPR demonstration, try out a breathalyser and a virtual reality headset to see how it feels to be driving while under the influence. There will be free goody bags available also.

Additional police officers, Fire and Scottish Ambulance Service personnel will be on hand to answer questions.

This Road Safety Event is part of a campaign that will run throughout the summer.

The Council’s Road Safety Officer, Yvonne Scott, said: “To be part of a child’s road safety journey, watching them learn the rules of the road and acting appropriately to keep themselves and others safe on the road thus preventing serious injury, is extremely satisfying.

“Events such as this really do help in driving home the message of the ramifications of careless and dangerous driving on our roads. Some of the messages we are sharing from emergency staff in the run up to the event are stark but so is delivering devastating news to loved ones.

“We know that road safety campaigns work so it’s important to keep up the momentum. Please come along and support the event.”