Crew Manager Chris Firmin, from Aylesbury Fire Station, is pictured with two other presenters - a paramedic from South Central Ambulance Service and a motorcyclist paralysed in a collision.
15 November 2007
Around 4,000 sixth-formers have attended one of six performances of a potentially life-saving film and theatre production, Safe Drive Stay Alive, in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes this month. The final one was held yesterday in Milton Keynes.
The presentation explores the circumstances that can lead to a car crash and the consequences that follow.
They took place at the Wycombe Swan Theatre on 5 and 6 November and the ballroom of the stadium:mk in Milton Keynes on 14 November.
The central theme is a film showing four young people on a night out. Their car crashes as they are on their way to a local club. As the events unfold and members of the emergency services arrive on scene, they literally step out on to the stage.
While the film is freeze-framed, the police officer, paramedic, fire and rescue officer or accident and emergency consultant then talks about what happens in real life, along with the medical implications and how seeing such trauma affects them personally.
This is followed by input from the parents of someone who died or was seriously injured in a car crash, a student who lost his friend in a collision and a person who was left paralysed.
In the last five years, 181 people aged between 16 and 24 have been killed in road collisions in the Thames Valley, and more than 1,500 seriously injured.
Keith Wheeler, one of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s community safety partnership managers, who has helped organise the presentations, said: "No punches are pulled, and no emotions are spared with these presentations. This is a huge campaign and we are hoping we can really make a difference.
“Many students were visibly moved by the production today. Hopefully the key safety messages will remain with them and help them to drive safely”.
For more information on Safe Drive Stay Alive, visit www.safedrive.org.uk