NEIL HAYES

My mother resigned from her job to become her full-time carer and they were best friends.

She had an amazing group of friends and she went on to marry her high school sweetheart and even had her own child.

However, we all had to watch her miss out on so many things due to her injuries.

Tragically though, she passed away in January 2017, almost 20 years after her accident as the injuries had eventually taken their toll on her health.

She was 34 years old and left behind a 3-year-old son and a devastated family with holes in their hearts that can never be filled.

As the Acting Commander of the Northern Territory Police Force’s Road Policing Command, it is my aim to reduce the trauma that is far too prevalent on our roads.

The Road Policing Command exists to educate and enforce road safety across the Northern Territory and while not always popular it is essential in order to achieve our aim of “Towards Zero” lives lost or road related trauma.

It is evident that some Territorians fail to see the broader consequences of road trauma.

Road crashes can often

“It is my aim to reduce the trauma that is prevalent on our roads”

cromanaging idiots.

But it has, and it is symptomatic of a wider problem: we are raising a generation of cottonwool kids.

Common sense is taking a back seat as adults go overboard trying to make life easy for children.

Think about it.

Classrooms have to be airconditioned (though not as many as the State Government promised), kids do have devastating results – on the individuals involved, their families who support them through their recovery if they are lucky enough to survive or those left behind when a life is tragically lost.

This can happen to you, to your family.

Only through the community working together and changing our driving behaviour, can we influence change in those around us.

Last year we lost 35 lives on our roads and hundreds more were seriously injured in what are far too often crashes that could have been avoided.

Our aim is to continue to reduce the number of people that needlessly suffer because of stupidity on our roads each day, each year. And for that I need all Territorians’ help… fewer household chores (even when money is dangled before them), and senior students are discouraged from having part-time jobs.

A teacher advised my son to quit his two weekly shifts at the local IGA store so he could concentrate on years 11 and 12.

In hindsight, I should have insisted that he keep the job, and improve his time management skills.