The Emergency Ambulance Service has been working with Guernsey Police and Guernsey Fire & Rescue on a hard hitting road safety presentation for secondary school students across Guernsey.
Sponsored by local insurance brokers Rossborough, Licence to Kill – is a tri-service initiative aimed at showing students the devastating consequences of speeding, alcohol, not wearing a seatbelt and using mobile phones whilst driving, known as the fatal four. The sessions feature footage of local accidents and interviews with victims and their families.
During the presentation guest speaker Becci Hey shares her personal and emotional story of losing her son, Josh, in a road traffic collision in the UK. Josh was the passenger in a car which crashed at speed on a country road.
Becci urged students to think about the consequences of the choices they make. She told the young audience: “Your parents do not want to be walking in my shoes. It was nearly ten years ago, but it feels like yesterday. I will never see his face again, never hear his voice again. I cry every day for Josh, for his brother and my family. Even if I save one family from going through what we’ve been through then my lovely Josh would not have died for nothing.”
Emergency Ambulance Service Paramedic Dean Robilliard said: “Very sadly we have seen a number of serious road traffic collisions in the past year, where people have been seriously hurt and in two cases young people have died as a result of crashes. Cases like these have a devastating effect on those involved. We want our roads to be safer for everyone and I hope that this presentation will have a positive impact on the next generation of young drivers.”
Roads Policing Unit officer Matthew Du Port said: “Licence to Kill is a reminder that just because they’ve passed their test, they aren’t suddenly able to drive at speed, or when drunk or under the influence of drugs. People think that Guernsey roads equal safe roads. This year proves that not to be the case and we want to show in the starkest possible terms, what can happen when people decide not to take road safety seriously. After passing their test they are given a licence to drive – not a licence to kill.”
Firefighter Gavin Robins said: “The Licence to Kill presentation aims not only to raise awareness, but also change attitudes. The dangers are real, and they can and do happen, but we hope that by doing this presentation we will help change the way people think and make our roads safer. As the ones who attend crashes we know how they can affect people, so while the message is hard hitting we are empathetic to people’s feelings and we encourage young people to talk about the issues after the presentation. Once the students leave the theatre it is over to them to put these lessons into practice because we really don’t want to come across them at the next crash scene.”
Richard Clarke, Managing Director of Rossborough Group in Guernsey, said that the wider the messages reach, the greater the chance of reducing the number of accidents on local roads, especially with younger people learning to drive for the first time.
“Rossborough is proud to have sponsored Licence to Kill for eight years in a row. We recognise the extensive benefits of educating young students on how dangerous the roads can be and how easily accidents can happen.
“Our aim is to spread this message to as many young motorists as we can. As a local insurance broker with global expertise, we understand the dangers motorists can face in Guernsey and want to ensure that our young people are well-equipped and well informed when they drive on our local roads.”