Last week I had the joy of working late shift, now for those who aren't aware I am Operations person #1 at a classy limousine and coach company. The drive that we do is approximate 70 km along the most scenic and dangerous road in Australia. Port Douglas to Cairns coastal highway, one lane each way.
Our drivers are all trained in first aid, they all have due care and dilligence on this road, zero accidents for our company. Now some local drivers here think they #1 own the road #2 know how to drive it because they are local. Unfortunately they share this road with people not unlike yourselfs should you come for a holiday here. People are use to driving on the wrong side (te he he) of the road, people who are enjoying at leisure the beautiful road trip.
When you mix these two groups of drivers together with lorry trucks you create a cocktail that makes me sick on a weekly basis... last week once every two days. What am I talking about??? Car accidents, and not just from drink drivers but speed, why I particularly don't like it is that our drivers end up directing traffic, are usually the first at the scene even before cops, ambulance or fire brigade, who do they call on the radio?? Me, with every detail about the accidents that I MUST relay to emergency services.
The two that happened on my watch were deadly, a local driver going to fast a slow tourist traveling on a dangerous road veering to the wrong side.... the second? a local driver chancing to overtake on this road that kills on average one person a month. Filthy is all I can think of.
I do not wish to go home having been on our phone and radio all afternoon having to not only direct emergency services but field calls from locals, concerned obviously, tourist and their resorts.. relaying again and again the foolishness of drink driving and speed that caused both accidents. We only have one life, anyone who wishes to jeopordise someone elses should be in MHO punished beyond the standard slap on the wrist.
AA meetings, re hab, driver ed, loss of liscence for over five years, MASSIVE fines... you know too many people be it here in Australia or any other country around the world lose their lives because someone is more interested in the destination rather than the journey of life.
I feel very bad for Daily's friend and their family, for CJ and his family, his friends, his life. Just because someone is gone, dead, does not mean that we live each day without pain, the pain they would have suffered is always transferred to those of us left.
If people stopped being so damned selfish about their destination be that joy through alcohol or a holiday then the pain so many live with for LIFE would not be so prominent in our societies.
My little winge folks, those two accidents effected me, I had to hear about severed body parts, blood, wreckage, death and relay this on the phone to someone else then deal with my driver when she got back, talk to her, make sure she was okay, offer her some counceling to ensure that she was not emotionaly jared and scarred by it, its not easy its awfully upseting and its disgusting that people don't think about it more often.
Life is about the journey, not the destination.
