Shock tactics used on young drivers
Jul 9 2009 The Journal
YOUNG drivers were given a shock talk on road safety after two horrific car crashes claimed the lives of two teenage youths in a matter of weeks.
Just weeks after Sam Gattens and Peter Pringle were killed in two separate smashes on Northumberland roads, the emergency services issued a stark warning to newly qualified youngsters.
Sam’s mum, Catherine, was due to give a heartfelt talk to the newly-qualified drivers after her 17-year-old son Sam was killed in a smash.
The teenager died when his red Vauxhall Corsa overturned on the B6341 near Lion Bridge, just outside Alnwick, Northumberland, but last night Catherine was too devastated to appear.
Sam had held a driving licence for just six days when the so-far unexplained crash cost the young golfing prodigy his life.
The Duchess’s High School student, from the Highfield Park area of Alnwick, was driving with three friends, who all escaped serious injury. And in a bid to show others of the dangers facing newly-qualified drivers, a mock car crash scene was staged.
Volunteers, all aged between 17 and 24, were given the chance to experience what it is like to be cut free from the wreckage of a car.
They also spoke to the police and fire brigade and heard the harrowing affects attending a fatal car crash can have on them. The demonstration was part of a two-day event at Alnwick Fire Station aimed at highlighting the dangers young people face when taking to the roads after passing their tests.
Neighbourhood Policing Team Insp Sue Peart said: “This is not a knee-jerk reaction to road safety after the accidents that have taken place over the last few weeks.
“This event has been organised for several weeks and now we want to hit the message home. “We are not saying that young people are irresponsible drivers, but they are more at risk because they are still learning how to negotiate the roads.
“I’ve had my own experience of attending car crashes on a few occasions in my 26 years of policing. They are some of the most difficult things I have had to deal with. I’ve been at the scene of the accident where young people and died and then had to go and tell the parents their son or daughter has died. We need to show the young people of all these implications.”
Peter Pringle became the second 17-year-old in three weeks to die on country roads around Alnwick in Northumberland after losing control of their cars.
Peter died instantly when his Vauxhall Corsa left a road near to the B6341 and hit a tree last week.
Joe Hunter, a firefighter with the Alnwick Fire Station, led the talk last night. His father was trapped in a car for more than one hour in an accident that killed two pensioners on the A697 near Rothbury, in Northumberland.
He escaped uninjured but now Joe is determined to spread the word. He said: “There have been 156 deaths in car crashes in Northumberland in the last six years.
“This is obviously too high. We’ve done this talk with different groups but it’s important to target to the young new drivers.”
