2. COMMUNITY | QLD Fire and Rescue,
Health and Police Service
Road Safety 2016
There is no such thing as a traffic accident. There are road
crashes. Brutal, bloodied, noisy, surreal and at times,
almost unidentifiable scenes where horror, misery and
regret descend like a haunting dark blanket of death over
sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, cousins, friends and
parents. They result from choices, attitudes and
behaviours of drivers.
Trying to couch ‘road smashes’ in a cocooned description
of blamelessness such as ‘accident’ is simply a reflection
of people not wanting to take responsibility for their own
choices, attitudes and behaviours.
That was the clear message delivered to the latest group
of around 50 participants who attended one of the
Attitudinal Drivers Workshops held regularly at the Victoria
Point Sharks Sporting Club.
And while that club markets itself as a community sporting,
entertainment and dining facility, the brutal messages and
lessons being learned in the pleasantly furnished function
room, were a lot harsher than anything featured in the
club’s promotional materials.
Among the attenders were repeat, no, make that,
repeating repeat traffic offenders; some were students and
others were there clearly as a pre-requisite to getting their
driver’s licence reinstated. That the club donates a function
room entirely free of charge to the ADW in order to assist it
perform road safety educational sessions, is highly
commendable.
That so many attendees have proved themselves to be out
of touch with the realities of foolhardiness, is highly
alarming.
3. Speakers like Constable Chris Hay and Senior Constable
Neil Punchard from the Capalaba Road Police Unit; 38
year career-hardened Senior Fire-fighter George Phillips;
and road trauma medical specialist Dr Chris May who is
Director of the Emergency Department at Redland
Hospital, showed photo after photo explaining the lead up
to, the smash itself, the contributing factors and the
impacts wreaked upon not only the main players, but their
extended social networks.
Fatal smashes in the Redlands, some from elsewhere as
well, but primarily, from the local roads where: “It can’t
happen to me” is not said, because it is not even
contemplated.
George the firie explains how his crew can cut a car into
quarters in seven minutes, provided no one is in it.
If there is, the victim is probably going to remain trapped
inside for around four hours as medical crews try to
stabilise life before any cutting can commence. And then
it’s a slow, deliberate, precise and very, very slow
exercise.
“When I started as a fireman, we used to put our fires,”
George said.
“Today, the bulk of a fireman’s work relates to rescuing
people.”
At the back of the room, Doug Wright’s jeans hide the
buckled remains of a right leg held together by screws,
plates, medical skill and courage. Doug, a Cleveland local
and accompanied by wife Gay, described himself as one of
the ‘lucky’ ones.
Lucky?
Eight months in hospital, 120 hours undergoing various
operations as surgeons and hospital staff continue trying to
put him back together; racking up bills of somewhere
between $800,000 and $1 million and family anguish
beyond belief – that is the price he is paying, because
another driver apparently reached for a bottle of water, lost
control
of his ute, crossed to the wrong side of the road and
speared head-on into Doug’s small truck in 2012.
“Yes, lucky – because I am alive and I’ve got the chance to
tell others that it happens to everyday people, just like me,”
he says.
4. “I think we need to have a complete paradigm shift about
how people respect the roads. I think it is my duty to tell
my story.”
Doug tells his story.
Three and a half hours to extract him from the wreck and a
list of broken bones that makes you think hard about the
chances of survival and about the pain.
The message clearly sinks in with some people.
He pauses while Gay talks about what it means to become
a carer overnight and the impacts on their family.
Her voice trembles once or twice, she continues on, holds
back the tears and her message also is heard. I know it is,
because a number of people shake hands with Doug and
Gay before leaving the venue.
Senior Constable Neil Punchard plays an audio he
recorded while booking a 17 year old for speeding.
In it, he somewhat predictively warns the teen: “Mate –
you’ve got to wise up or you won’t see your 18th birthday.”
The policeman cuts to the next slide – showing a
dreadfully smashed car with a 17 year old driver that had
died within it.
The same 17 year old who was warned just a few weeks
before.
A Humvee military vehicle blown up in Afghanistan. A
yellow sedan equally crumpled on Mt Cotton Road.
“Can you identify them?” asks our local traffic cop. I
couldn’t, but one young car enthusiast picked the Humvee.
“The difference between a plane and a car?” Senior
Constable Punchard questions again.
“You can’t land a car safely – but if you do 170km/h along
Mt Petrie Road you can hit a power pole two metres up
from the road.”
And that’s probably also a good time to point out that Anti-
Lock Brakes; Electronic Stability Control Systems,
progressive crumple zones and other safety innovations
will not assist you either once you have made the choice to
drive it like a ballistic missile.
Think you’re safe sitting in your car at the lights – think
again. Backed with an armoury of data about vehicle
distances travelled per second; closing speeds and
durations between on-coming vehicles; the inter-relation of
perception, reaction and braking times; how forces of
inertia can split vital organs in half; how human factors
5. contribute to 93 percent of fatal accidents, the team
skilfully detailed scenario after scenario and posited
questions.
They’re designed to drive home the outcomes message –
not just the medical ones, but also the criminal charges
that follow, the likelihood of a prison sentence and what
that means in the real world, injuries sustained, the deaths,
the costs, and the impacts on communities.
It costs $2 to attend an Attitudinal Drivers’ Workshop.
What a pity so many have, are, and will pay in the future, a
far higher price before they attend…
Within our Redland City, the Road Safety Week, an
initiative of the Queensland Police Service, will occur
between: Monday August 17 to Friday, August 21.
Monday: Distraction and Inattention
Tuesday: Speed and Risky Behaviour
Wednesday: Fatigue
Thursday: Share the Road
Friday: Impaired Driving
The Attitudinal Drivers Workshop is designed to highlight
to young, complacent or inexperienced drivers, the
dangers of poor driving choices.
On August 17, a workshop will be held at the Victoria Point
Sharks Football Club, 325 Colburn Avenue, Victoria Point.
Book a family member in to help them better understand
their driving choices or to help avoid being penalised by
the driving behaviours of others.
Bookings may be made at the Cleveland Police Station
Counter on 3824 9333 or email at
attitudinaldriversworkshop@gmail.com and will cost a $2
entry fee on the day.
Additional dates for 2015, are September 14, October 12,
November 9 and December 14.
On Wednesday, August 19, members of the Attitudinal
Drivers Workshop and the Coffee with a Cop initiative will
be available for a chat and will be held at:
Capalaba Library: 14-16 Noeleen St, Capalaba.
