Campaign to shine a light on road safety

The deaths of more than 100 people on Victorian roads this year has left a gaping hole in their families’ lives. Now their loved ones are speaking out in a bid to raise awareness about the ongoing grief caused by road trauma.

Louise Robbins lost her son, Jayden, in a motorbike crash in May 2017. She is pictured with her partner Jeff Brown and their son Nathan. Picture: Ian Currie

With more than 100 deaths on Victorian roads this year, a trauma support service says there has never been a more urgent time to talk about safety.

Road Trauma Support Services Victoria’s (RTSSV) Shine a Light on Road Safety campaign raised awareness about how everyone had a responsibility to keep our motorways safe.

RTSSV interim chief executive Bernadette Nugent said more than 7500 people were injured each year in crashes in Victoria.

“We sadly hear hundreds of stories every year that reflect this and the struggle people experience to find meaning again and reconnect to their lives (after trauma),” she said.

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The group provides counselling and support to people affected by road trauma, such as survivors, loved ones and witnesses.

It has already received more than 600 referrals to its services this year.

Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said everyone had a responsibility to ensure their fellow road users got home safety.

“With the lives lost tally sadly in the triple figures already, 2019 has displayed that every road user group has recorded a death, further reiterating the fact that we all have a role to play in reducing road trauma,” he said.

“Emergency service organisations and support services such as the shine a light network, experience first-hand the devastating effect a death or serious injury on our roads has on loved ones, co-workers and the wider community.”

So far this year 106 people have lost their lives on Victorian roads.

The latest TAC data shows there were more than 8400 people seriously injured in crashes on the state’s roads between September 2017-18.

More than 4000 of those injured were drivers, but passengers, motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists were also affected.

In the first four months of 2019 106 people have died on Victorian roads. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Maurice Blackburn road injury lawyer Voula Lambropoulos said the campaign raised awareness about the true magnitude of road trauma and the ripple effect physical, mental and emotional impacts had well after the crash.

“There have been great technological advances in terms of safety, but all road users can’t be blasé about being alert on the roads — technology will never eliminate the risk of injury or fatality,” she said.

You can support the campaign by taking part in the Shine a Light on Road Safety community walk on Sunday, May 5 at Albert Park Lake.

The event starts at 11am with the walk beginning at 11.30am.

Participants can tackle a 2km or 5km route, or just come along to support the cause.

RTSSV is also urging Victorians to turn on their headlights on May 10 to remember those affected by road trauma and show their commitment to keeping our roads safe.

For more information about the May 5 event or RTSSV’s counselling services phone [phone] or visit the website.

‘I SCREAMED AND IN THAT MOMENT IT WAS LIKE MY SOUL LEFT ME’

David Parsell's son 15-year-old son Dave died in a car crash in January 2016. Picture: Ian Currie

David Parsell

My two boys, James and David Jr, and I would go to Yarrawonga three times a year to fish and pan for gold.

The day of the accident, we were driving back from prospecting when I let my eldest son James — who had his Learner’s permit — drive home from the highway.

David was in the back.

We saw a kangaroo and James drove around it fine, but he overcorrected. The car fished tailed and lost control, hitting a tree at about 100km/h.

The tree was on my side of the car and I distinctly remember thinking, ‘At least it’s going to be me and not my boys’.

At the hospital, a policeman told me that Dave had died. I screamed and in that moment it was like my soul left me.

Why take my gorgeous boy away from me?

David was 15 and only wanted to help other people. He wanted to be a humanitarian. The pain, the emptiness and the trauma I feel from that accident will stay with me forever. I have flashbacks.

I think of David every time I get into a car.

Everyone on the road needs to know that unexpected things can happen at any time.

A split second and everything you know can change.

Don’t become a statistic and don’t let your loved ones go through what I am going through.

Be safe, be alert.

‘OUR LIVES WERE LOST ALONG WITH JAYDEN’S ON THAT DAY’

Louise Robbins, her partner Jeff Brown and their son Nathan remember Jayden. Picture: Ian Currie

Louise Robbins

There is not a day that goes by that we don’t wait and hope for the sound of Jayden’s motorbike to turn into our street at night.

Our lives were taken along with Jayden’s on that day in May 2017.

Our beautiful 22-year-old boy went to work as he did each morning. It was the last time we saw our son, our brother, our angel.

On his way home, Jayden was hit by a driver who had crossed in front of him on Upper Heidelberg Rd in Ivanhoe.

He was thrown from his bike and killed in an instant.

His last moment on earth was witnessing a driver career into his path with no time to react.

At 5pm, we watched a report on the news.

Jay was late home from work. There was a frantic phone call, then the police arrived on our doorstep at 5.45pm.

Words cannot describe the shock, numbness and disbelief in that moment. The shock at being told he would never return home to brighten our day, sent us to depths of darkness we had never known.

No family should suffer the eternal loss and pain of losing a loved one on our roads.

Drivers need to be responsible and accountable.