“My brother was killed by a drunk speeding driver.” Those words pierced the silence in the room as George Greaves spoke of the night 20 years ago when his brother drove while drunk and became a road statistic.
The Melton man told the dozens of mums, dads and youth who attended last week’s road safety community forum at the Catholic Regional School about the ripple effects of road trauma.
“I often ask this drunk speeding driver, why did you do it? Why did you get in the car after 15 beers? Why did you speed? Why were you on the wrong side of the road? But he won’t answer me,” Mr Greaves said.
“[Offenders’] actions can have a huge impact, not just on their own lives but their families, friends and the community,” Mr Greaves said.
He said that when more than 1000 people turned up to his brother’s funeral, it “dawned on me then the impact of road trauma”.
“If you have 500 friends on Facebook, all those people are affected by your death along with your nanna, nonna, pop,” he said.
“Everyone’s affected … work colleagues, schoolmates, teachers, police officers.”
Mr Greaves described the fatal events of March 12, 1995: “What’s the worst that can happen?” the offender said at the time.
“I’ll lose my licence? I’ve got 12 demerit points. What are they going to do when they catch me?
“I’ll go the back roads. Coppers never go the back roads.”
Melton police’s Inspector Kathy Rudkins urged young drivers to heed the road safety message.
“We don’t want you to be a statistic of road fatality,” she said. “You young people are our future.”
