The cost of road trauma is huge.
We are constantly bombarded with information about the financial cost of serious and fatal road crashes in Western Australia.
And that does not take into account the human cost – the trauma experienced by victims who survive and the families who are left behind to pick up the pieces.
Families who have experienced a serious or fatal road crash will tell you that they never fully recover from it – still coming to terms with the impact – years on.
Over many decades road safety experts have pondered many education and training programs to try and prevent such incidents from occurring in the first place – knowing full well that prevention is better than cure.
These programs need to start before drivers get behind the wheel.
And this is why campaigns such as the Youth Road Safety Forum that was held in Merredin earlier this week need to be supported on a greater scale.
The forum heard that of the 80 people killed on WA’s roads from January 1 to August 30 this year, 22 died while driving in the Wheatbelt.
Talk to the local police, the local volunteer fire brigade and the local St John Ambulance staff about road trauma and they will all have stories to tell.
They are the ones who regularly deal with devastating road crashes and despite signing up to do the job, would love nothing more than not having to do it.
Any tools that can prevent people from being another statistic, and reduce the need for an emergency response, need to be supported.
Another great campaign is the online first-aid campaign that is giving students important skills they can use if they are at the scene of an incident.
ClicktoSave can be completed in 30 minutes and given how simple it is to follow, it should be mandatory completion for everyone who is learning to drive.
People behind the online tool say it only takes four minutes for unconscious road victims with no serious injury to die from a blocked airway.
It is unbelievable to think that up to 15 per cent of road deaths could be prevented by administering basic first-aid. Given most people living in the Avon Valley and Wheatbelt have to drive long distances, chances are high of being involved in a serious crash or being a first-responder to one.
Well done to all involved.
