‘From my actions and me thinking I was the big man, I had taken someone’s life’...
Meath County Council and The Rotary Club of Navan hosted their annual Just 1 Life Road Safety Awareness Programme at the Solstice Arts Centre last week, showing the realities of dangerous driving to fifth and sixth year students of O'Carolan's College in Nobber and Dunshaughlin Community College. The programme welcomed several guest speakers, members of An Garda Siochana and Meath-based firefighters to the stage for different sections of the programme.
The programme is designed to educate young people about Road Safety, targeting 15 to 17 year old students before they get behind the wheel of a car with the aim to reduce road-related injuries and fatalities. The program uses a “shock and awe” approach, where impactful personal stories and videos vividly demonstrate the consequences of unsafe driving choices.
Two members of An Garda Siochana took to the stage to tell stories that not only impacted the driver’s and the families lives, but their own lives, too, explaining how breaking the news to a loved one that their family member has been in a road traffic accident is something that they will never forget.
Firefighters from around the county then demonstrated how the roof of a car can sometimes have to be cut off during a road accident, using their real tools and a car that was brought on stage. There was great reaction from the students for this section, seeing a vehicle be dismantled in front of them.
When asked at the break of the programme what it has taught them so far, two sixth year students from O’Carolan’s College in Nobber explained how seeing such a demonstration has opened their eyes to the dangers of speeding and using your phone while driving.
Sixth year Aaron O’Donnell said: “I drive myself and this programme has really shown us the importance of not touching your phone while driving and slowing down.”
Sixth year Ronan Reilly continued: “I also drive and it is important to reduce the amount that you check your phone. Observations I’ve made since I started driving is that everyone seems to speed on the road.”
The next speaker of the day was Donegal man Gavin Meenan. During his talk, you could hear a pin drop in the room. Gavin explained that when he was just eighteen years old, his life changed forever.
After completing his first week of university, he returned home for the weekend to Donegal. He took his dads car out, like he had done many times, to pick up his friends and excitedly tell them about his first week of freedom. Being so young, Gavin explained that he thought he was untouchable.
“There was a sense of freedom and independence when I was driving that car. It was a sense of power. It wasn’t the first time I was speeding. My dad wanted the car home, so I began speeding around corners with three of my friends in the car.”
The car lost control going around a corner, swerving to the other side of the road due to the speed he was going at.
“I never thought something like this would happen to me. I had seen things like this on television, but assumed it would never be me. I collided straight into another car coming towards me.”
Gavin and his friends emerged from the car relatively unscathed, but then heard crying coming from the other car. Gavin approached the passenger side window and looked in. That was the moment he realised the severity of the situation.
“I looked in the window and saw a woman, deceased, in the driver's seat. A woman I recognised. I’m from a small town, everyone knows each other. The crying was coming from her son in the backseat.”
As Gavin went into shock, the following days were a blur. His dads car was destroyed, and someone’s family was, too. The Gardai came to his door, telling him that he could potentially go to jail for the accident.
Gavin decided to attend the wake of the deceased woman. To his surprised, he was welcomed warmly and forgivingly by her brother. When he attended court, the woman’s three sisters showed up to the court room, asking the Judge to not send Gavin to prison.
It was decided that the best thing for Gavin was to go back to university and to try and continue a somewhat normal life. Still in a state of shock and carrying guilt and shame, he turned to alcohol to numb the pain, and carried the weight of what he had done on his shoulders for years.
“No one knew I was feeling like this. I was the life and soul of the party, but it was a way to filter out the pain. From my actions and me thinking I was the big man, I had taken someone’s life.”
Gavin soon became a dad, and realised he had the power to turn his life around and use his story for good. Sharing his story with those who are the same age as he was when the accident happened, might save someone else's life, turning a tragedy into the best possible thing he could.