Why we should all ‘Drive with Grace’

19/05/2010

We've all said 'life's too short' and 'you never know what's round the corner'. We all profess to be more than acutely aware of the delicate threads by which our lives dangle but still road traffic collisions continue to happen on a daily basis as a result of the careless, dangerous and sometimes reckless behaviour of young drivers.

Just last week X factor star Lloyd Daniels was lucky to escape a horrific car crash just 5 weeks after passing his driving test. As a member of the brain injury team here at Irwin Mitchell I, along with my colleagues, are seeing an increasing number of these type of collisions along with the tragic and devastating consequences such behaviour causes. A fleeting moment in one young person’s life leading to others lives being dramatically changed forever. I am currently assisting Alison Eddy with a case which has struck me to the very core just how devastating these consequences can be.

In March 2009 a car ploughed into a group of teenage friends killing Eleanor Grace McGrath,  leaving Jack Horton severely brain injured and requiring 24 hour care also injuring 12 other young people both physical and psychologically. All of the friends just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when Ben Gemmell’s car mounted the pavement and ploughed into them. One young man using his car as a tool to show off with, having passed his driving test only 2 weeks before. One young man now serving a 6 year jail sentence for his fleeting moment of madness and irresponsibility. Reading about Lloyd Daniels and dealing with this case and others like it just serves to highlight further that young drivers lacking experience and a proper appreciation of risks will benefit from being educated about the responsibility that driving a car entails in order that other needless accidents might be avoided.

It is for this reason that here at Irwin Mitchell we are proud to be giving our full support and backing to just such an educational campaign set up by two friends of Eleanor Grace McGrath who died in the collision. After the collision Emily and Lauren Smoothy felt strongly that young people need to be educated about the responsibility that they have to themselves, their passengers, other road users and pedestrians when they succeed in obtaining their driving licence. And so with the full support of Eleanor's parents and the backing of a local business man they decided to set up the 'Driving with Grace campaign' with the aim of raising further awareness of road safety they produced a DVD to tell the tragic story of this one incident. The DVD features some of the children and families that were either injured or affected by the collision in which Eleanor died together with an account by Ben Gemmell from the prison where he is serving his sentence. The honest and heartfelt accounts of the children and families on the DVD make for extremely powerful viewing. The DVD has so far been sent to around 10,000 schools but it is hoped that there will be further circulation of the DVD to ensure its message reaches as many young people as possible. Those involved in the campaign also hope to participate in lobbying activities to try and change the law regarding the requirements of driving tests. They would like to see our system mirror that in Australia where new drivers are required to complete 120 hours of driving before they can even take their test.
 
Details of 'Driving with Grace' and the DVD can be found at http://www.drivingwithgrace.co.uk/. Please take a look and support the campaign. We will continue to work alongside the ‘Driving with Grace’ team to support them in their aims over the coming months so watch this space for further news. If we can prevent one more road collision it will be worthwhile.

Article by Natalie Spurrier

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