By ANEEKA SIMONIS
IN THE past 12 months, Cardinia shire has been hit with a staggering 200 per cent increase in road fatalities.
A report by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) says that six people lost their lives on the shire’s roads in the 12 months up to August, tripling the numbers of deaths recorded in the previous 12-month period.
Lee Davy, a 19-year-old local boy who lost his life in a car accident on McGregor Road, Pakenham, in 2012, is a raw and tragic reminder about the dangers on the road.
His mother Francine Davy said she was pained to hear about the recent road toll statistics and believes there should be greater education for kids and young adults about their decision making.
“It’s shocking… I am a teacher and I think that schools need to do more around education to teach kids that all choices have impacts,” she said.
“We need to go back to basics on educating young kids.
“The Life Education vans are fantastic, they do courses on alcohol and smoking and things like that but one off (classes) aren’t enough.
“Education around choice needs to start at kinder age and go through to secondary school.”
Her son was in the car with friend and driver, Alexander Shane Booth, then 18, who is now serving a six-year jail sentence for culpable driving causing death.
Francine said students visit Mr Booth in prison to listen to him talk about the consequences of the crash and believes similar programs should be adopted in schools.
“I am really pleased that Lee’s friend is doing that in prison. It would be a very hard thing to do but it has a big impact on kids.
“I believe the education department should spend money on having people who have been released from prison to come into schools and talk to kids about the consequences of their actions.
“I think for the issue to be in their face and to be real rather than seeing crashes on television or in videos would have a bigger impact,” she said.
In the same report, the TAC revealed that car accidents that required more than 14 days of acute hospitalisation decreased, with 10 people requiring extended treatment in the 12 months up to August compared to 12 in the previous 12 months.
The number of acute hospital admissions for a shorter period of time also dropped from 83 in 2012-2013 to 76 in the past year.
