The helicopter pilot
After 35 years in emergency services, Graeme Spiers has lost count of how many fatal car crashes he has attended. But he can remember them all, down to the finest detail.
The first serious fatal crash he attended, between a Triumph carrying three people and a petrol tanker, was probably the worst.
The crew were dragged out of bed at 7am and told they were attending a petrol tanker on fire in a paddock. But they found something very different.
‘‘One person was ejected from the car onto the road, while the guy in the driver’s seat was just completely obliterated,’’ he says.
Currently a Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter crewman, Spiers spent 28 years as a volunteer firefighter in Feilding – one of the country’s 10 busiest volunteer stations.
Seeing that many crashes, sadly, normalised the scenes, he says.
Cars crashing head-on. Drivers hitting trees and power poles. Teenagers being found lifeless in an almost undamaged car after coming off the road.
‘‘I’ve seen everything you can imagine, because I’ve been doing it so long. Too many to remember.
‘‘I came up through the times when it was ‘harden the f... up’. If you showed any sign of weakness that’s literally what you were told.
‘‘Imagine guys going to this day after day after day. You have got to take your hat off to them, having the courage to be the first to poke their head into a car that’s smashed into a lamp-post or another car and not know what they’re going to see.’’
The Fire Service now has a critical incident stress management team, and bigger brigades try not to expose younger members to graphic scenes straight away. But that option is not always available, especially for smaller brigades.
Being part of the helicopter crew has not stopped Spiers from seeing the aftermath of crashes. They have flown to three different vehicle incidents in the past week, including a fatal one involving a car and a train in Horowhenua near Levin.
‘‘If we were killing 400 people a year in aviation, you would be all over us. But we kill 400 people on the road, and no one does anything different.’’
He is shocked that nearly a third of crash fatalities are down to failure to use seatbelts.
Spiers contrasts driving instruction with the training required of the helicopter crew.
‘‘In the aviation world we do a lot of simulation training so we’re ready for emergencies. When you get your driver licence you never have to simulate an emergency.
‘‘You’re 16-years-old, you get your licence, and not once do you get exposed to what happens when it does go wrong.
‘‘My daughter is getting her licence at the moment and is driving a Mitsubishi Mirage, a little two-door thing. But she’ll have her licence and she could jump in a V8 Commodore tomorrow.’’
I’ve seen everything you can imagine, because I’ve been doing it so long. Too many to remember. Graeme Spiers