Intensive education or Intensive Care?

Intensive Education or Intensive Care?

I wake up gagging on a tube, unable to open my eyes and work out where I am. My mind is foggy and can’t clear space to think clearly. ‘Take some deep breaths’, beep… beep… beep, ‘Try to open your eyes’. My mind is whirling, accelerated into action. I take the biggest breath I can muster and open my eyes as the intensive care unit comes into focus.

In May 2018 I was hit by a Portuguese Lorry travelling at 60mph, causing me to spin across three lanes of traffic. I will never know if irresponsible driving was the cause, as the driver did not speak English, but I do know that increased drivers ed would have saved me from ending up in intensive care that day.

Lack of drivers ed is perhaps an underestimated cause of road traffic incidents in the UK. Once you have passed a driving test there is no other criteria to maintain any kind of training or education. You can hold a driving licence for over 60 years without any development of your skills. Imagine how the world has changed in 60 years. The invention of the internet, the mobile phone, even the first man on the moon. It would be unacceptable to train as a doctor 60 years ago and never update your knowledge. Driving can be a high-risk activity, so why are there no regulations on continued education?

Education, however, reaches beyond age. UK roads are shared with thousands of European HGVs transporting goods in and out of the country. UK vehicles are right hand drive, European vehicles are left hand drive and the road casualty statistics do not make for happy reading. You are 3.4 times as likely to have a serious accident involving a left hand drive vehicle and drivers of these vehicles are found to be at fault 76% of the time. Surely these statistics should prompt discussion on the introduction of education and awareness training on UK roads?

My stay in intensive care certainly prompted me to think about the safety of my driving. ‘Hands Free’ use of mobile phones has become normal activity, but I do wonder if it is truly safe. The number of deaths caused by drivers using mobile phones has increased every year since 2014. Can we not cope without using a mobile phone for 30 minutes or even an hour? What is so important it cannot wait until you are parked up safely? I ask myself these questions when I am tempted to use hands free in my car and as of yet, I haven’t had a situation where calling someone couldn’t wait.

It’s time to put driver safety before speed.

Moving forward I’d like to see intensive education not intensive care.