Heed the message - drive safely

Brian Donaldson • Published 10 Dec 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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Almost every week we hear of road accidents in terms of statistics. The 107th death on roads in Northern Ireland occurred in our county on Monday, the same figure for all of 2008. But last year's total was surpassed on Tuesday night with yet another road death.

But statistics are no comfort for the loved ones of road victims. It is they who feel the pain and grief of losing a family member and friend, especially in the weeks before Christmas which is a family occasion.

What statistics can do is perhaps shock people into thinking that this just cannot go on. No longer are we prepared to put up with these casualties on our roads.

The regular messages from the PSNI continue; don't speed, don't use a mobile phone when driving and don't drink and drive. But it appears that these coupled with carelessness continue to be factors behind most accidents.

Of course it is not only the victim's family and friends who are deeply affected by these accidents, it is all those who are connected, those caught up in such incidents, those who are injured and perhaps need months of medical treatment and the front line emergency services whose job it is to respond to such incidents.

This Christmas a new campaign supported by various agencies is aimed at designated drivers, those people who volunteer to drive to and from a night out with their friends. Coca Cola have sponsored the campaign which aims to reward such drivers with free soft drinks during the night, in a bid to ensure they all get home safely. It is being rolled out to a number of licensed premises in Fermanagh in the weeks before Christmas.

The more times we can repeat the message to take care on the roads, the less risk there is for someone to get seriously injured. No family wants a policeman to come knocking on the door with bad news at any time of year, but especially during the Christmas season.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 10 Dec 09

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