Safe Drive Stay Alive Event Review William Churchill St John’s School Leatherhead

          It started out when we first arrived at Dorking Halls where the event would be taking place, there was Police and Fire vehicles organised everywhere which made it feel very important. At the entrance to Dorking Halls there was the main presenter of the event and he spoke to us about who was driving and who had passed. I had only driven for two hours in total before this, as my birthday was the weekend before. We then headed into the venue.

          We then found our seats and they were playing hyping, energetic music with vibrant lighting moving around the area. This then subsided and everyone was in a very good mood, as the main presenter mentioned above came in and spoke about what we were going to learn about that afternoon, saying that no was an actor, and it was completely their job and they had really experienced it themselves.

          We started with a thought-provoking video about someone who had lost someone or had been badly injured due to a road traffic collision.

          The first presenter was a road traffic officer who came onto the stage and spoke about the five fatal faults that cause the greatest number of incidents on UK roads, which are: Drinking, Drugs, using a phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and being distracted. All of these are illegal. If you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs you would be banned from driving and would be put into court. If you are using your phone, you could get 6 points on your license and a fine of £200 and if you are a new driver 6 points and your driving licence is taken off you and you will have to reapply and redo your theory and practical test. If you are not wearing your seatbelt you could be fined £500. We then continued onto another thought provoking and significant video.

          Then a member of the fire brigade came onto the stage and spoke about a personal experience they had had when dealing with an event as part of their job, which made it all feel very real. There was then another video about someone who was in a car incident which continued to make you think about the dangers of driving.

          Next a paramedic came onto the stage and spoke about what happened when she was on a family holiday abroad as a child and how she was caught up in a road accident at night in a country where she did not know the language and did not know what was going on. She then continued to speak about an accident she saw as a trained paramedic. This continued into another thought-provoking video about someone who had been affected by a road traffic accident.

          The next presenter was a nurse who was speaking about the result of a driving accident she had been involved in as a nurse at a hospital Accident and Emergency. She said that the easiest thing to cure is physical injuries, like broken bones, illness, and infections, but the most difficult thing to cure is mental injuries. You can imagine that if you have been involved in an accident on the road it would be very difficult to get back in the driver’s seat and do something that had hurt you or those you loved so much. Another video was shown after this.

          The penultimate speaker was someone who had been indirectly affected by the action of another road user. They were a parent whose son had been in the back of a car when it crashed, they were wearing a seatbelt, but only the older lap belts. When they were taken to the hospital by an ambulance and after many x-rays and scans, they discovered that there was internal bleeding due to the force being directed in a singular spot. This mother spoke to her son about what had happened, and he said that he had been on the phone when it happened. He was then taken away to go into emergency surgery, and they never spoke to each other again. This mother discovered who had been on the phone at the time of the accident, you cannot imagine what went through their brain when this happened. This was all due to someone speeding on a main road and colliding with a tree. There was another video with gravitas and meaning.

          The final presenter was a you man who had been involved in a traffic incident themselves. They were fine with people driving and the experience of driving, but they wanted to make sure that everyone would remain safe whilst doing so as well.

          There was a final summary video of all the videos before, showing all the different people who had been affected by road traffic accidents and you could see that the event was coming to a close.

          Everyone who had spoken came back onto stage: the traffic officer, the member of the fire brigade, the paramedic, the nurse, the person who lost their son due to a road traffic accident and the man who had been directly affected by it. The main speaker then returned and said that they hoped that everyone found the event enjoyable and thought provoking, but would not put them off driving, but encourage them to drive safely. They then said that the experience of driving is how the whole show felt, everyone was really excited at the start and by the end it was very meek and low. You should enjoy your nights out but be aware of how your driving could be affected. As we left Dorking Halls, we were each given a key ring to remind us of the day and put on our car key rings, so we can make sure we Safe Drive, Stay Alive.

          In summary it was a fantastic afternoon, the event was really eye opening to driving and how you can affect people by doing it dangerously. The atmosphere was great throughout and absolutely matched the tone of the show at the time. The length was perfect, and I was engaged throughout. It is well worth a watch by anyone who is either driving or learning to drive.