Our TY students went to the AXA RSA Roadshow in Killarney recently and wanted to share their experience with you, as they found they learned a lot from the outing. Below one of our students details the day for us and gives us an insight into what to expect at the show.
Axa safety roadshow in INEC, Gleneagle, Killarney
Date:26/11/2024
Time: 11:30-1:00
Today we, the St. Michael's College TY’s travelled by bus to the INEC in Killarney’s Gleneagle hotel. We went to experience and learn about road safety and the consequences that follow carelessness on the already treacherous roads.
AXA insurance hosted the Roadshow. They had brilliant presenters who brought the story to real life and put it into perspective how dangerous the roads can be, especially for young drivers who may not see the dangers the roads pose. There were 3 members of an Garda Síocháná, 1 ambulance driver and 1 doctor/ nurse who works daily dealing with these situations in a hospital speaking to us and many other schools.
They all showed us how their jobs work and the life long scars that are going to be left with them from what they have seen first hand. They prepared a scripted video about a 17 year old boy named Sean who had just passed his driving test, got a car last week and was about to pick up his new girlfriend in the new car. Things could not have been going better from him until he loses control of the car while speeding, the car flies to the other side of the road and smashes into a tree. Sineád, Sean’s new girlfriend who was not wearing a seatbelt gets launched through the windshield and is dead within an instant. Sean however, is alive and trapped in the driver seat. His legs are crushed and a bone is protruding through his skin. He has multiple fractures on his legs but he cannot feel the pain. The ambulance doctors stretcher him out through the back window and ask him lots of questions. They suspect he has spinal damage as he cannot feel any pain in his legs and he cannot move his toes. This story ends with Sean ending up paralysed from the waist down. He has life long consequences which will affect everything he does in the future. After this a middle aged woman explains her experience of losing her son to a road accident and that she still is not right from it. It affects her every day of her life. She gives a detailed description which is very hard for a grieving person to be able to do. They showed horrifying injuries from car accidents and how they affect the future for people. Finally they showed the process of cutting someone out from a crashed car and how difficult it is to get it right.
On a personal note, I believe it was an eye opening experience and will definitely stay in my mind when I start driving in the future. It is a must see for everyone and the injuries are put it into reality right before your eyes. Overall I believe it was very good and I would like to learn more about it in the future. Be careful on the roads everyone!
Ewan Somers, TY