Just thought I would leave a message for all on this board to drive safely, especially with the easter long weekend coming up.

I was at my in-laws place last night. While having coffee by the poolside, heard a great crash from the road, went out onto the road, a Hyundai excel with 3 on board had crashed into a plane tree on Mont Albert road, just about 15m east of Balwyn road corner. Hyundai was apparently travelling west, swerved uncontrollably on negotiating a traffic island (Rochester road) and crashed into the tree on the wrong side of the road. Judging from the mangled wreck, must have been travelling in the region of 120 kmh. Engine compartment, front wheel on drivers side ended up in a smashed up mess in the back seat. Was at the scene within about a minute. The driver unrecognisable - dead, passenger on the left deformed, head in an awfully awkward angle just attached to his neck - dead, passenger in the back seat moaning, almost lifeless. It was the most depressing scene I have ever seen. The smells of the fresh wreck, the smoke from the car, and the moans - just very, very sad.

Please all, drive safely.

 

Oh man that sounds bad.

A scene like that would have caused me some major damage me thinks...

I hope you're ok man... try to get that image out of your mind.

 

There is a photo of this on the front page of the Herald-Sun this morning.

The whole front page seems to be devoted to the subject of 'accidents' (I didn't buy it). Probably appropriate as Easter is coming up.

 

That's just gruesome!!!!

This is lesson to all the hero's out there, who reckon driving fast on the street is cool.

 

Very unpleasant as this is just around the corner from me too. I don't mean to sound callous, however, sensationalist headlines, which the HSV regularly features just turn me off through their sheer grossness, inaccuracy and misuse of statistics. I am equally convinced that the youth whom they are targetting and berating feel exactly the same way.

I have a 14 year old son, rapidly growing up to be 18, and the only good thing I can think about is that at least in Victoria we are sensible enough to not allow licensing until age 18. The flip side of this coin is that it is also the age when they can legally buy alcohol too.

I know all youth think they are invulnerable - franky I think there is little we can do to change that as it is basically genetic going back to the bad old days when we had to hunt down sabre tooth tigers singlehanded and feelings of mortality weren't an option if your family was going to get fed.

At the end of the day I just hope young people can survive that period of their lives. My brother didn't - he died from motor vehcile trauma in his late 20s. Let's just hope that the rest of those we are close too don't become a similar statistic.