Becci Hay’s son Josh was just 20 when he was killed in a car crash in the UK in 2012.
He was in the front passenger seat of a car which was travelling at 65mph along a rural country lane with a speed limit of 40mph when it crashed after the driver lost control on a bend.
‘Since his death I’ve spoken to thousands of students and worked with Thames Valley and Hampshire Police to educate young people on the importance of being responsible on the road,’ Mrs Hay said.
‘I’ve always felt that sharing my story will help save lives, being able to see someone who is a real-life example of the tragedy that can happen if someone doesn’t make the right choice.’
She added it had been interesting to see students’ moods change as the presentation went on.
‘They arrived in quite a jovial mood, but slowly but surely they were knocked down and by the end everyone was quite quiet and solemn.
‘It shows that presenting in this way has an impact.’
She was speaking to Year 11 students as part of the annual road safety initiative Licence to Kill.
Fire & Rescue Service crew commander Gavin Robins said one of the most important parts of the talk was getting students to remember the ‘fatal four’ areas of road safety – speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone, and drink or drug-driving.
‘It’s all about educating them to make the correct choices and to stay safe,’ he said.
‘Some of the content that is shown is designed to be graphic. It is meant to shock the students so that they really understand the risks of each of those four areas.’
While some of the footage shown was recreated, Mr Robins said that many of the images that made up the presentation were taken from real-life incidents.
Some of the young people had to leave the lecture theatre before the event’s conclusion due to the nature of the images.
‘Serious accidents do happen on Guernsey’s roads and we want to make sure the students are aware of that and realise the implications and severity of what can happen,’ he said.
He added Mrs Hay’s story sent a ‘powerful’ message to students.
‘Hopefully it’ll make these young people think about how their parents would feel if something was to happen to them.’
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