Learn2Live is an educational event that partners with the Local Authority Road Safety Team, Fire and Rescue service, police, Family Liaison Officers, families etc. to educate students on young drivers and driving as a whole. The first event took place on 12th March 2008 and since this date has been seen by by over 100,000 students and service personnel. (Learn 2 Live, 2017)
This year, a large number of Year 12 students across the local consortium schools were informed about the safety and precautions of driving, the factors that can cause accidents and how wary you have to be on the road.
At first, a member at the event spent a lot of time engaging the students and informing them on the facts and figures of road collisions, such as the percentages, likelihood and involvement of young drivers. After this, they were shown a presentation on the dangers of driving.
The main presentation was based on a short film, depicting a group of friends that went out to a party, and had a collision on their journey home. There were multiple people in the car, and due to this collision one of the friends died from her injuries. The family of each of these victims were informed by the Police Liaison Officer and the true impact of the accident was revealed.
At different points in the film, the clip was paused and a member of the emergency services, such as a policeman, a member of the ambulance service and a member of staff from a car insurance company, came onto stage to inform the audience of a collision that they had attended- all the stories are completely true and were told from their own point of view.
Individuals that had been in accidents relayed their own emotional experiences- from how the accident was caused, to their life after the accident. They voluntarily did this, to raise awareness of the factors that can cause crashes and to make sure that the audience remember that driving isn’t something you can take for granted.
The remainder of the film was resumed and the aftermath was revealed. After the crash, the audience found out what happened to the people in the crash and how it changed their lives forever.
Exiting the event, the audience were greeted with the individuals that told their stories and were inspired and amazed at their courage to relive their experiences in front of a group of over 200 students. By the end, the students were very emotional and aware of what they had just heard. Some students stated that they were “shocked at how likely accidents happen and how young these drivers can be”, whilst other students were “emotional” and were willing to wait a few years before they learnt to drive.
Reference:
Learn 2 Live (2017). Learn 2 Live. [online] Available at: http://www.learn-2-live.org.uk/about-us [Accessed 19 Oct. 2017].
