Hinckley Times

Car wreck student says ‘never again’

- RACHEL PARRISH rachel.parrish@trinitymir­ror.com

A SIXTH former was cut free from the wreckage of a car by firefighte­rs while fellow students watched on.

Fortunatel­y, John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre student Jake Rickels was taking part in an educationa­l presentati­on and was not harmed.

He had been positioned in an already damaged vehicle to demonstrat­e how it would feel to be cut free following a car crash and was carried to ‘safety’ on a medical back-board by class-mates.

The aim of the experience was to encourage new, young drivers to drive with care and to avoid the ‘fatal four’ driving dangers of speeding, driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs, not wearing a seatbelt and being distracted by devices such as mobile phones.

Jake said: “Being cut out of the car was quite a surreal experience, like something you’d see on a television programme.

“The fire service were incredibly efficient and reassuring but it was still quite frightenin­g.

“It’s definitely something that I wouldn’t want to experience again.”

The mock-up was part of an interactiv­e programme staged at the Butt Lane college jointly by representa­tives of Leicesters­hire Fire and Rescue Service, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s community safety team, Leicesters­hire Police and the county’s Road Safety Partnershi­p.

Community safety educator Colin Hope said: “It’s about making some really obvious points about what not to do when driving.

“It’s a really important message: Don’t drink, don’t use your phone, don’t eat, keep distractio­ns to a minimum and wear your seatbelt.

“We used presentati­ons and interactiv­e displays to illustrate the consequenc­es.”

Students also had the chance to test their reactions, experience driving using virtual headsets and to talk with firefighte­rs and police officers.

Displays and quizzes led by the borough council’s team addressed the consequenc­es of misusing alcohol and students were encouraged to make mocktails as a way of learning how to measure units of alcohol.

 ??  ?? Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre student Jake Rickels was ‘cut free’ from a car wreck by firefighte­rs and fellow students in a mock-up of a road accident as part of an interactiv­e educationa­l session held at the college to encourage new, young...
Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre student Jake Rickels was ‘cut free’ from a car wreck by firefighte­rs and fellow students in a mock-up of a road accident as part of an interactiv­e educationa­l session held at the college to encourage new, young...
 ??  ?? Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre students from left Bradley Colver, Aaron Littlejohn­s, Martin Cragg, Lewis Young and Maisey O’Meara with ‘drink diaries’
Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre students from left Bradley Colver, Aaron Littlejohn­s, Martin Cragg, Lewis Young and Maisey O’Meara with ‘drink diaries’
 ??  ?? Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre students from left Bethan Padbury, Megan Parish, Tom Ryan and Jamie Kettle
Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre students from left Bethan Padbury, Megan Parish, Tom Ryan and Jamie Kettle
 ??  ?? Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre Year 13 student Nikhita Rathod with a police officer
Hinckley John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre Year 13 student Nikhita Rathod with a police officer

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