Young drivers must heed safety message

The Safe Drive Stay Alive initiative has, for years, served to warn young drivers and those about to get behind the wheel for the first time, about the dangers of irresponsible actions.

It uses sometimes shocking stories and imagery to enforce the message that each vehicle is a potentially deadly weapon and just a moment’s inattention can have catastrophic consequences.

It is hard to quantify the effect of the annual message. Certainly, many youngsters take to the roads with a devil-may-care recklessness which may continue into adulthood until they receive a sharp jolt of reality.

That is the reason brave interventions like that made by Sara Edwards and her husband, Steven, are so vital.

The Edwards family is still grieving the senseless loss of two-year-old Harlow in a devastating crash in Coupar Angus.

Her killer was using his mobile phone when he lost control and hit the toddler and two other youngsters.

Sara spoke about the toll the crash had taken on so many lives and enforced the message that no call, no message, is so important that it cannot wait until a journey is complete.

No doubt, some in the crowd — affected though they may have been — will neglect or forget her message.

It must be hoped the vast majority do not, for the sake of countless lives which could otherwise be lost and ruined.