Road safety event for Westmeath TY students hosted in Athlone
Second-level Westmeath students packed into Athlone Town Stadium on Wednesday last to witness local emergency services perform a road accident scene re-enactment.
The re-enactment was part of a major road safety event aimed at transition year students from all the schools in the county, organised by Westmeath Comhairle na nÓg (WCNN).
The event on Wednesday, October 2, also featured numerous guest speakers as well as a VR facility, a RNLI lifeboat and information booths by all of the emergency services.
WCNN Coordinator Edweena Farrell said this was the fourth year they had held this event, which is aimed at increasing awareness of road safety among students as they reach the age where many will start driving.
The opening speech was given by Westmeath County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Liam McDaniel who thanked WCNN for organising the event, and noted the presence of all the emergency services on site.
He told the audience, “What you learn here today, you can keep in your mind for life, every time you go out on the road as a driver, cyclist, pedestrian.”
Representatives of WCNN also collected two awards for the organisation, a Garda Youth Award for their contribution to road safety, presented by Sgt Damian Connaughton from Westmeath Athlone Community Policing, and one Leading Light in Road Safety Award, presented by Pat Smyth of the Road Safety Authority.
The WCNN address was given by Aya Qaiyas, who said the event was about taking action, as each person there could make the choice to use the roads safely and responsibly, and to tell their friends and families to do so as well.
In his speech, former Westmeath state solicitor Peter Jones spoke of the consequences of causing an accident, warning that the courts can be a “cold place” when a person is being prosecuted, with factors like car modifications or how the person tended to drive being taken into account.
The next presentation of a video on road safety by Colaiste Mhuire in Mullingar that has gone viral in recent weeks, amassing over 196,000 views on Instagram, and featured in both local and national media.
It was introduced by Ethan Coll, the TY student who originally came up with the idea of basing the video around young lads texting on their phone, one of whom is walking home from school and another who is taking his car out after having passed his driving test.
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Carol Price and Harry Hasson from Moate Community School at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Image 2 of 8
Ciara White and Alesha White from Our Lady's Bower with Scott Powell from Coláiste Chiaráin at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Image 3 of 8
Cormac Dillon from Coláiste Chiaráin with Derry McMahon and Marc Raffalli with the Athlone Sub Aqua diver boat at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Image 4 of 8
Dean Flynn from the Order of Malta at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Image 5 of 8
Jacobo Batona and Mario Álvarez from the Marist College at the Westmeath Comhairle na nÓg Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo Paul Molloy.Image 6 of 8
Kayla Cornally and Holly O' Meara Brill from Our Lady's Bower at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Image 7 of 8
Megan Flynn Kelly from the Order of Malta at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Image 8 of 8
Sgt. Damien Connaughton, Sgt. Paul Kelly, Garda Stacy Looby, Garda Cathal Daly, Garda Ronan Moore and Garda Eugene Boland JLO at the WCNN Road Safety demonstration in Athlone Town Stadium last week. Photo: Paul Molloy.Killian O'Kelly from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) gave a talk on water safety, describing how 60% of water-related accidents in Ireland involve people who fell in.
He said: “Most know how to swim; the reason they drown is they go into 'cold water shock',” and gave a demonstration on how to fight this panic in the water.
Killian added: “The golden rule in rescuing somebody is to never go into the water yourself, because then you will also start to suffer from cold water shock.”
Frank Golden from Iarnrod Éireann gave a presentation on approaching level crossings, emphasising that “takes a train travelling at 90 miles an hour nearly a kilometre to stop”. While 90 miles is the maximum speed a train can travel through a level crossing at, they will travel 40 metres every second at that speed.
A very emotional speech was given by Leo Lieghio, whose daughter Marsia was killed by a hit and run driver in 2005 when she was in TY. He spoke of how she was in an induced coma for six days before she succumbed to her injuries, and his sadness at never getting to see her in her Debs dress or walk her up the aisle.
Just before the lunch break, the fire brigade, ambulance and police services collaborated on re-enacting the scene of a head-on collision between two cars. It featured some walking wounded receiving medical attention, the driver of one car being breathalysed and tested for narcotic substances, and the driver of the second car being cut out from behind the wheel.
Speaking after the re-enactment, Athlone Fire Sub-Officer Wesley Hudson said while they sometimes give demonstrations in their own station, this event by the WCNN was the only event each year that they get to give a demonstration with the other emergency services.
The post-lunch session allowed the students to visit the information stands of all the emergency services, and participate in a VR experience of an accident.
The students engaged well with the various activities and speeches, and the vast majority of them seemed to find the day interesting and informative. A certain amount of pride in the success of the Colaiste Mhuire video was also evident in the reception it was given by the audience.