A Birthday Gone Wrong: The Impact of Dangerous Driving On Me

A Birthday Gone Wrong – The Impact of Dangerous Driving On Me

It was the early hours of my seventh birthday when I was awoken by a loud and frightening crash – I was staying in a holiday home in a small Welsh village, where we walked to the beach every day, eating fish and chips and chasing the water as the tide moved in and out. My sister and I were fast asleep upstairs, sharing bunk beds in an exciting new place. My parents were watching the late news on the television downstairs, eagerly anticipating the next day that would be full of birthday surprises, when a seven-seater family car crashed through the wall, crushing the television and my birthday presents on the floor next to it.

My parents were covered in dust and flying rubble, but they weren’t concerned about themselves – my Mum ran upstairs to get us out, as the house was about to collapse, whilst my Dad grabbed the drunk seventeen-year-old at the wheel. The community around us were so warm and helpful, giving us a place to stay for the night and assisting my parents in dealing with the local emergency services. I’ll never forget the police talking to my Dad, and telling him about the trouble they had with dangerous drivers in the area.

They were honest in saying that drink driving was a real issue, with many young people not understanding the problem with driving under the influence. I believe the solution to this lies in education, a sector I am deeply passionate about, and the reason I am starting my course. I’ll be training as a primary school teacher, and understand the need for implementing early intervention in young people’s attitudes towards drink driving. I truly believe that until young people see the statistics associated with dangerous driving, and speak to those who have been impacted by dangerous driving, that we will never be able to tackle the problem.

We were lucky in that no one was seriously hurt or killed in the accident my family were involved in – but it caused irreparable damage to the house, and gave the driver a conviction so early in his life. I think that if we can demonstrate the human impact of dangerous driving to young people, this would change our attitude towards driving. If we can make young people understand that stepping into the driver’s seat is a huge responsibility, to those around you and yourself, then I believe we can vastly reduce the number of lives lost to dangerous driving across the world.

When I find myself driving and have a decision to make between what is safe and what is irresponsible, I remind myself of the terrified seven-year-old that woke up in real danger that night – and I remind my friends and family that when they are driving dangerously, it is not only their life that they will impact, but countless others around them too.