Thursday 17th February 2011



This was the scene outside Chesterfield College at lunchtime after a fatal collision took place just outside the entrance on Infirmary Road.

One young person was killed and several others were injured. One man lost his leg and another young victim suffered spinal injuries and faces a battle to walk again.

The driver was believed to have been under the influence of drink at the time of the collision and was arrested at the scene. If convicted he could face 14 years in jail for causing death by dangerous driving.

Over 1,000 students were witness to the incident that happened just before lunchtime and prompted an immediate response from all the emergency services.

OK. A confession ..... there WAS an incident outside the college just before lunchtime - but it was staged to show the impact such a collision can have on the lives, and futures, of young people experiencing driving for the first time.

The exercise was also designed to train and assess the college‘s Public Services students who are hoping to be the Police, Firefighters and Prison Officers of the future.

A joint collaboration between Derbyshire Fire Service and the College, the event has proved successful before and Vicky Sparks, Community Safety Officer for Derbyshire fire service says it's valuable for all parties. "We normally work in schools talking about fire safety but, with the Road Safety Partnership, we have a responsibility to try and reduce the number of reduce the number of kids dying in road traffic collisions".

The 'Dying 2 Drive' scheme was set up a couple of years ago (previously called  'Wasted') and is designed to show young people the consequences of driving dangerously and under the influence.

Vicky is clear what it sets out to do, "It's all about teaching the students about the devastation they can cause - to themselves and others, and not about telling them what to do. It's not about saying what's against the law, but about saying what other things can happen depending on their choices".

"It is," she says, "a job the firefighters enjoy doing. This is what all operational people do day in, day out. Once we have a storyline to work to, these guys turn up and do what they do on a real RTA, it's extra training for them and, with the Fire Service etc doing a lot of stuff where the ending isn't happy, it's nice for them to come and do something where the outcome is good.

"Students here run the command room and get some marshalling experience - they get a deep understanding and will hopefully then make the right choices when in a car."

She had this message for young people in Chesterfield, "The law is there not to spoil your fun but to protect you and other people - seatbelts save lives - put a seatbelt on and don't get distracted when driving."

Many departments at the college contributed to the day, with Automative students roughing up the cars to look realistic, students playing the parts of casualties (extra credit here to the young lady who played dead, lying in the road on a freezing day) and drama students doing the injury make up.

Fern Stray is a student who took part and says it was a valuable day for her, "It showed me how serious it is and what can happen in an RTA, it's taught me about wearing a seatbelt."

Debra Gray is Head of Learning for Sport and Public Services and told us exactly what the day aimed to do, "It's a partnership between the college and public services to promote safe driving for young drivers.

"This college has 4,000 students, many of who watched this live and it's meant to show the consequences of Dangerous driving. It's a vital assessment too for the course, they're fully involved in the planning, though it's not just about the observation, it's about the job experience and seeing the casualties will help them understand the emotional impact of this."

She adds, "They're also able to have the hands on approach, and get to view first hand what happens and hopefully that will make them think twice before they get in a car.

"It was a good and worthwhile exercise for the whole campus," she says, "being a whole college aproach, that, whilst focussing on public services, is supported by other depts. We're very proud of our students today. Learners have been phenomenal - they linked this to two units, with the planning undertaken by learners with public service support. I have to give out a huge shout out to my staff for doing this."

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