NRegan

Last updated 00:00, Friday, 23 November 2007

A new report reveals that rural roads are the most lethal, with young drivers among those most at risk. MARK GREEN spoke to a remarkable crash survivor who is taking a safe motoring message into schools and colleges . . .

DAVID Tattersall is a fresh-faced young lad with a sharp hairstyle and a quiet, assured way.

Nothing remarkable, just like thousands of other men in their early 20s.

But he is remarkable. He survived a devastating car crash and a prediction by doctors that he had only a three per cent chance of survival.

David, 22, of Stainburn, Workington, lived to tell his tale, again and again, to other youngsters in Cumbria, as a warning.

Over the past two years, he has played a key role showing thousands of secondary school pupils and college students how to steer clear of finding themselves in a hospital intensive care unit.

Look closely and you may just see the plaster covering a tracheotomy - a legacy of the crash in 2003 that almost claimed his life.

He suffered multiple injuries that included a crushed left foot; both thigh bones broken, an exploded spleen; all ribs, except one, were broken; right arm broken, spinal shock and multiple internal bleeding.

Firemen resuscitated him twice before he was taken to the West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven, where he underwent two 11-hour operations.

Four months later, just as he was learning to walk again, heart and lung complications were discovered and David was admitted as an emergency to the heart specialist unit at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.

They drained the lungs of fluid and performed open heart surgery.

Between December 17 and January 17 he was in a medical coma as he underwent a series of operations to prevent his lungs from filling with fluid.

He recalls: “When I came round, I did not know who I was, where I was or what was going on.

“Over the month, I had seven or eight operations.

“On New Year’s Eve, the doctors told my dad that I had between a three and five per cent chance of surviving the night, but if I did, they would carry out a radical operation.”

The operation involved removing his lungs and stripping the lining.

“It seems to have worked, though they don’t quite know why,” he adds.

David’s community work started when he contacted the fire and rescue service to meet the crew who cut him free from the wreckage of his car and saved his life.

When he asked if there was anything he could do as a thank-you; it was a coincidence that the crew were about to make a road safety presentation at his old school in Cockermouth.

He says: “It was hard the first time. I was thinking ‘Oh God, I don’t want to be here, why am I doing this?

“If it had just been for one session, I would not have done it again, but I was booked in for six sessions that day and it got easier the more I did it.

“When I talk, 99 per cent sit and listen. You can tell they are all fixated and not talking among themselves and fidgeting around.

“They do respond more to the person who has been through it and who knows what the pain is and how it feels.

“I tell them that it could happen to them. I tell them not just to think about themselves, but also friends and family, the firemen, police, paramedics, doctors and nurses and all their families.

“When you add it up, an accident affects hundreds of people.”

Earlier this year, David’s work with the Road Awareness Training team earned him the title of Fire Service Volunteer of the Year,

He was runner-up in the Safer Communities Award section of the Cumbria Community Awards last month.

He was nominated by Michael McMinn, group manager responsible for community safety within Allerdale and Copeland.

The fire officer said: “This is our second full year and the difference he has made has been phenomenal.

“ A real-life story and personalising something has an impact.

“We have had excellent feedback from the kids.

“There is evidence of this approach having an effect, as the number of accidents involving the 16 to 25 age group has reduced in the past three years.”

David is adamant that young drivers should not be blamed for all the accidents they are involved in but he wants young drivers who pass their tests to be given more training.

He says: “They should not pass the test at 17 and then be told ‘here you go, there’s a one tonne weapon, off you go.’

“All the blame should not be put on young drivers. Like me, they might just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“But sadly, statistically, there is more chance that they will be involved in a crash than any other age group.

“There are more deaths than serious injuries because with more modern cars, people think they are safer and they go faster.

“There has always been bravado by young men in cars and there always will be, it is part of growing up.

“Everyone thinks it will happen to someone else, but one little fraction of a mistake can lead to what happened to me, or death.”

David was a fit, gym-going 18-year-old at the time of the crash, early one morning on the A66 near Cockermouth.

He feared he would never work again, but thanks to his determination and the understanding of his bosses, he has started work as a bar supervisor at Armathwaite Hall Hotel, Bassenthwaite.

He still travels to Middlesbrough once a month for treatment and will need further operations, including a hip replacement.

He and the road awareness team have spoken to about 8,000 students in West Cumbria since his first talk over two years ago.

“It is only a small number, but if it stops just one of them dying or going through what has happened to me, it is more than worthwhile.”

* The Fire and Rescue Service is looking for more volunteers like David to talk to students about road safety.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help with Road Awareness Training should contact Valerie Ayre on 01900 820247.