Road safety to fore for TY students

Westmeath Comhairle na nÓg

Second-level Westmeath students packed into Athlone Town Stadium on Wednesday week last to witness local emergency services perform a road accident scene re-enactment. It was part of a road safety event aimed at transition year students and organised by Westmeath Comhairle na nÓg (WCNN).

The event featured numerous guest speakers as well as a VR facility, a RNLI lifeboat and information booths by all of the emergency services.

WCNN coordinator Edweena Farrell said this was the fourth year they had held this event, which is aimed at increasing awareness of road safety among students as they reach the age when many start driving.

The opening speech was given by Westmeath County Council cathaoirleach Cllr Liam McDaniel, who thanked WCNN for organising the event, and noted the presence of all the emergency services on site.

“What you learn here, you can keep in your mind for life, every time you go out on the road as a driver, cyclist, pedestrian.”

Representatives of WCNN also collected two awards for the organisation, a Garda Youth Award for their contribution to road safety, presented by Sgt Damian Connaughton from Westmeath Athlone Community Policing, and a Leading Light in Road Safety Award, presented by Pat Smyth of the Road Safety Authority.

The WCNN address was given by Aya Qaiyas, who said the event was about taking action, as each person there could make the choice to use the roads safely and responsibly, and to tell their friends and families to do so as well.

In his speech, former Westmeath state solicitor Peter Jones spoke of the consequences of causing an accident, warning that the courts can be a “cold place” when a person is being prosecuted, and factors such as car modifications or how a person tends to drive are taken into account.

A video on road safety by Coláiste Mhuire in Mullingar that has gained more than 196,000 views on Instagram and featured in both local and national media was introduced by Ethan Coll. He is TY student who originally came up with the idea of basing the video on young lads texting on their phones, one of whom is walking home from school and another who is taking his car out after having passed his driving test.

Killian O’Kelly from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) gave a talk on water safety, describing how 60% of water-related accidents in Ireland involve people who fell in: “Most know how to swim; the reason they drown is they go into ‘cold water shock’,” he said, as he gave a demonstration on how to fight panic in the water.

Killian added: “The golden rule in rescuing somebody is to never go into the water yourself, because then you will also start to suffer from cold water shock.”

Frank Golden from Iarnród Éireann gave a presentation on approaching level crossings, pointing out that it “takes a train travelling at 90 miles an hour nearly a kilometre to stop”. While 90mph (140kmh) is the maximum speed a train can travel through a level crossing at, it will travel 40 metres every second at that speed.

Leo Lieghio, whose daughter Marsia was killed by a hit and run driver in 2005 when she was in TY, gave an emotional speech. He spoke of how Marsia was in an induced coma for six days before she succumbed to her injuries, and his sadness at never getting to see her in her debs dress or walk her up the aisle.

The fire brigade, ambulance and police services collaborated on re-enacting the scene of a head-on collision between two cars.

It featured some walking wounded receiving medical attention, the driver of one car being breathalysed and tested for narcotic substances, and the driver of the second car being cut out from behind the wheel.

Speaking after that re-enactment, Athlone Fire Station sub-officer Wesley Hudson said while they sometimes give demonstrations in their own station, this event by the WCNN was the only one each year that they get to give a demonstration with the other emergency services in the county.

Later in the day, students visited the information stands of all the emergency services, and participated in a VR experience of an accident.

The students engaged well with the various activities and speeches, and the vast majority of them seemed to find the day interesting and informative.

A certain amount of pride in the success of the Coláiste Mhuire video was also evident in the reception it was given by the audience.