2 minute read
Facing road trauma realities head-on
Editorial and photography: Danielle Ford
“Shattered to pieces” is how Alex Eleftheriou described his body after a horrific motorcycle accident when he was 17.
“Every bone in my body was broken, from my cervical in my spine down to the navicular in my foot,” Mr Eleftheriou said.
The accident, which the now 24-year-old said was the result of him not paying proper attention while riding, left him a quadriplegic, unable to use his body from the neck down.
“Before my accident, I thought I was invincible,” he said.
More than 1,200 students, all a similar age to Mr Eleftheriou at the time of his accident, faced the reality of road trauma head on earlier this year while listening to him recount the story of his accident and recovery.
Year 11 and 12 students from schools in the Geelong region heard Mr Eleftheriou’s story as part of the You Just Never Know program, a firstof-its-kind Victoria Police initiative aimed at raising awareness and providing education to teenagers about the dangers of irresponsible driving.
For attendee Kiah Williams from Sacred Heart College, Mr Eleftheriou’s story hit hard, with the 16-year-old having recently started driving.
“It really highlighted how a serious road accident can have a huge ripple effect on so many people,” Kiah said.
“Alex was a similar age to me when he had his accident and that really made it hit home that anything can happen at any time, so you’ve got to be so alert and sensible on the road.”
Supt Craig Gillard, Ldg Sen Const Andy Brittain, Patrick Dangerfield and Magistrate Ann McGarvie all spoke at the event, sharing their personal stories of road trauma.
Presented as a three-hour session, the program involved Geelong police joining with representatives from Ambulance Victoria, University Hospital Geelong, Geelong Football Club and Geelong Magistrates' Court to show students the wide-ranging impact irresponsible driving can have.
Geelong Community Engagement Unit Leading Senior Constable Andrew Brittain said the program differed from other road safety events, as it was designed to be a harsh and confronting look at the realities of road accidents.
“The impact road accidents have on the people involved in them, their family and friends, the emergency services workers who attend and the wider community is huge, so we wanted to show the not-so-pretty side of it,” Ldg Sen Const Brittain said.
Representatives from each organisation shared personal experiences of road accidents, ranging from a paramedic who has attended countless scenes, to Geelong Football Club star Patrick Dangerfield, who lost his uncle in a car accident.
“He made the terrible choice to drink and drive and my family has to live without him now. We also live with the knowledge that had he made a different choice, he could still be with us,” Dangerfield said.
Ldg Sen Const Brittain said the response to the sessions was extremely positive and police in the Geelong region are planning to make them an annual event.
Surf Coast Secondary College students Zakhele Stevens and Kayla Hardy, Ambulance Victoria’s Michael Sheriden, Alex Eleftheriou, Supt Craig Gillard and Sacred Heart College students Kiah Williams and Erin Dystra.
“By showing the students straight up what the impacts of their choices can be, we are hopefully helping them stop and think before they make one silly mistake that could change their whole life,” he said.
