Tayside Police launch Safe Drive Stay Alive for road users

Nov 27 2009 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

STUDENTS from across Perthshire are to be shown graphic images of car crashes in a bid to prevent future accidents.

The two-day Safe Drive Stay Alive event being held at the Fair City’s Bell’s Sports Centre will allow young adults to hear personal accounts from people whose lives have been irrevocably altered by road traffic collisions.

Designed to challenge attitudes to driving, the emotionally-charged production will also feature input from professionals who deal with the harrowing aftermath of serious accidents.

This is the third year Safe Drive Stay Alive has been staged and partners involved in the initiative include the emergency services, NHS Tayside and community safety groups.

Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman, the head of road policing in Tayside, said new teenage drivers need to be warned about the dangers of ignoring road safety.

“Unless you have been directly affected by a serious or fatal collision, it is impossible to imagine the full horror of such a tragedy,” he said yesterday.

Dr Neil Nichol, who is a consultant in emergency medicine at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital, described Safe Drive Stay Alive’s content as “at times shocking and very upsetting.”

“Organisers make no apologies for putting the audience through the emotional wringer,” he said.

The audio-visual show visits Bell’s Sports Centre on December 8 and 9.