Safety in Formula 1 has come a long way since the tragic 'black weekend' at Imola, San Marino in 1994. Both Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenburger sadly lost their lives in what was arguably the worst weekend in Formula 1 history. The two deaths were the first since 1982, and left a grisly mark on what was the best period of Formula 1 safety since the introduction of the sport in 1946.
Since the dreadful weekend in Imola, safety in the sport is at an all time high. Both the cars and the tracks are catered for high speed crashes, to reduce impact and to take the pressure away from the driver and his surrounding frame. Because of this, nobody has lost their lives since 1994; every driver has lived to tell the tale of their accidents.
Unfortunately, that cannot be said for drivers on the road. In 2010 alone, deaths on the road amounted to 1857, with a further 22,660 seriously injured.
Speeding is a big cause of these statistics, and is one of the main dangers on the roads today. Even a 10mph increase from 30mph to 40mph increases the chance of a pedestrian death by 60% when hit. This is before the driver, passengers and other vehicles are taken into consideration. As much as it may slow down the journey, the speed limit is there for a good reason.
Now this is where you come in.
Young people, or those who have just passed their driving test, are the most vulnerable on the roads. Some gain a sense of invincibility and opt to show their driving skills by travelling well over the speed limit, leading to accidents that could easily be avoided. Keeping to the speed limit can prevent most accidents completely, and although you might think your bargain banger isn't as fast as a Formula 1 car, it is more than capable of doing considerable damage.
On a typical new driver's budget, the car you choose isn't going to be up to date with the safety features of modern cars; some even fail to provide an airbag. Therefore, when a crash does occur, you're not as safe as you could be. More importantly, you're nowhere near as prepared for a collision as a professional Formula 1 driver. Keep this in mind, and use it as an incentive to drive with caution.
Also, the faster you go, the less miles per gallon you get out of your fuel. Meaning, sticking to the limit will save you money in the long run, and will prepare you for surprises on the road when they do happen.
Remember, you're not in an F1 car, or on an F1 track. Leave the speeding to the professionals, and keep your mind on the road. It's not about getting to your destination quickly, it's about getting there in one piece. Strap up, slow down.
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[I chose this because the victims relate directly to my target audience: new drivers. The lad had only passed his test a month before killing two of his mates in a horror crash.]
A newly-qualified driver has been jailed for killing his two best friends in a crash on a country road - a month after passing his test.
Nicholas Landon, 18, was behind the wheel of his Suzuki Swift when he lost control and killed schoolfriends Alex Jones and Royston Thomas.
A-level student Landon was just 17 at the time of the crash and had only passed his driving test a month before the fatal accident.
A court heard he was travelling at up to 70 mph on a flooded road where the speed limit was 40mph.
Judge Neil Bidder QC told Landon: 'That road was dark, narrow and had bends.
'You should have been travelling at below the 40mph speed limit, not more than 20 mph above it.
'You must have seen puddles as you approached that area but you ignored the conditions.
'As a result the two families are suffering intense grief and no sentence I can pass can remove their pain.'
Landon, of Bridgend, South Wales, admitted two charges of causing death by careless driving.
The court heard he was out with his two schoolfriends on a country road in Ogmore-on-Sea, near Bridgend, when the accident happened in November 2009.
The two passengers, also 17, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The court heard Landon wrote to both boys' parents expressing his remorse.
He wrote: 'Royston and Alex were my best friends. I loved them so much and always will.'
Landon was jailed for 20 months and handed a three-year driving ban.
Landon was jailed for 20 months and handed a three-year driving ban.
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[I chose this because of the emotional response to the baby: one year into her life and it has been greatly limited by this man's stupidity. Plus, it will provoke a response to the injustice with two years imprisonment]
The heir to a £130million fortune is facing jail after leaving a baby paralysed in a car crash.
Cerys Edwards suffered massive injuries when Antonio Boparan Singh ploughed his £57,000 Range Rover into her parents' Jeep.
The 21-year-old was weaving in and out of traffic, doing 70mph in a 30mph limit. The collision shunted the Jeep 57ft backwards and into the car behind.
Cerys, who had just turned one, was secured in a child seat but sustained a broken neck and brain damage.
She needs round-the-clock care and a ventilator to help her breathe.
Singh faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail after being convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday of dangerous driving.
His parents - Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan Singh - pledged £1million surety to secure his release on bail until sentencing later this month.
The couple featured at number 49 in last year's Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune estimated at £130million.
They own the 2 Sisters Food Group which supplies poultry to Tesco and other food firms.
Cerys's parents, Gareth and Tracy, called yesterday for stiffer penalties for dangerous driving.
Mr Edwards said Singh had told paramedics that Cerys was on her father's lap and not in her seat during the crash.
"I was investigated for a week by the police, until they realised it was all complete lies" added the 43-year-old selfemployed builder.
"Singh has put us through absolute hell.
"A two-year sentence would be absurdly lenient - we weren't even allowed to tell the jury how he destroyed our lives."
Richard Langton, the family's solicitor, said: "The maximum sentence for dangerous driving is just two years, but if Singh had killed Cerys, he would face a maximum sentence of 14 years for causing death by dangerous driving.
"There needs to be either a new charge to reflect cases where serious injury is caused by dangerous driving, or the maximum penalty for dangerous driving should be considerably raised to account for cases like this one."
He said that if Cerys, two, dies from her injuries, Singh could be prosecuted for causing death by dangerous driving.
Mr Edwards suffered a broken nose and rib in the crash a mile from the family home in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
His wife, who was driving, broke her ankle. She said: "Cerys was effectively killed in the accident.
"If we took away her ventilator she would soon die. Singh has wrecked our lives."
The 41-year-old former office administrator now helps look after Cerys at the Children's Trust rehabilitation centre in Surrey.
Singh was 19 at the time of the crash in November 2006 and had passed his driving test six months earlier.
The trial heard he had overtaken one car and was trying to pass a second when he ploughed into the oncoming Jeep at an estimated 72mph.
The Range Rover was owned by Boparan Holdings, which controls the 2 Sisters Food Group.
The company's insurers have refused to cover the estimated £850,000 cost of converting a house for Cerys to live in. Because her life expectancy is uncertain they say they will only offer a rental property.
Mr Langton, of Russell Jones & Walker in Birmingham, described the stance as "callous" and plans to lodge a claim at the High Court for a £1million interim payment.
This would pay for a house in Sutton Coldfield and full-time carers.
The 2 Sisters group, which is based in West Bromwich, has 13 factories in the UK as well as operations in Holland and the U.S.
The holding group has annual sales of £650million and a workforce of more than 5,500.
Mrs Singh said her son was in training to become a manager at the family firm.
Speaking from her five-bedroom home on a private road in Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, the 41-year-old said: "This whole episode has been very upsetting.
"I don't want to say anything further."
In a brief statement released through 2 Sisters last night, her son said: "This was a tragic accident that I deeply regret."
His father, also 41, said: "My family has every sympathy for Cerys and her family following this awful accident."
How Black Box kept track of danger driver
Singh's trial used evidence from a device fitted to the airbag system of his Range Rover - the first time such technology has played a role in a British court.
This helped police put the defendant's speed at around 72mph.
The Event Data Recorder, similar to an aircraft's black box, was used to establish that a force equivalent to 42mph was lost in one fifth of a second in the crash.
Data recorders in airbags can record a car's speed and deceleration and other information such as the pressure on a brake pedal at the time of a crash.
Car manufacturers began installing them in vehicles in the 1990s to test airbag performance - early airbags often wrongly deployed in cars being driven over bumps.
Data provided by the recorders has been used in the U.S. and Canada for the last ten years to investigate crashes and, in some cases, aid prosecutions.
Experts predict such evidence will become an increasingly common in British courts.
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[I found this the most hard hitting article, and although it doesn't relate to my target audience much, not many will have children, it just shows it can happen to anyone. It demonstrates the guilt and the aftermath of the accident, rather than just what happened, which brings the emotional response up another level.]
A mother who killed her only daughter and a schoolfriend while driving dangerously was jailed for two years yesterday.
Heather Thompson, 41, was in tears during the hearing at Lincoln crown court which heard the catastrophic results of her boast that she could get the two 12-year-olds from their drama class to her daughter's birthday party in 15 minutes.
Her Rover 216 left a bumpy country lane last June after overtaking a line of other drivers at speeds of up to 80mph and overturned, throwing Abbey Thompson and her friend, Lauren Wheeler, out of the back window. Their bodies were found with fatal head and chest injuries in a field after Thompson crawled from a window of the overturned car.
A forensic examination of the scene of the accident found that the probable speed of the vehicle at the time it went off the road was around 72mph.
Thompson told police the girls had been laughing in the back seat, until Abbey cried out: "Mummy please stop it!"
Earlier, Thompson, of Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, had told surprised parents at the drama class that she could make it home to Abbey's party in 15 minutes.
Gareth Wheetman, prosecuting, read a number of statements from drivers who reported that she was going "far too fast for the condition of the road".
Sentencing Thompson, who admitted causing death by dangerous driving, Judge Michael Heath said: "I cannot draw back from an immediate custodial sentence.
"You are responsible not only for the death of your own wonderful daughter, but also for the death of another family's wonderful daughter and granddaughter." The court heard that Thompson fully realised the terrible consequences for Lauren's family and her own.
Deborah Wheeler, Lauren's mother, said in a statement read to the court that the family had been totally devastated by her daughter's death.
She said she remembered the 12-year-old as a girl who was "always smiling, always happy", who wanted to be a Hollywood actress.
Kaiser Nazir, defending Thompson, said: "Mrs Thompson has never tried in any way to excuse the way she drove.
"She has never attempted in any way to lessen her guilt for this incident and the tragic and devastating effect of that afternoon."
The judge said that he had been forwarded a local pensioner's letter by Sir Peter Tapsell, Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle, which suggested that she must have suffered enough and that prison would be too harsh.
But he told the court: "I have had letters after sentences expressing views about the sentence, but I am not influenced before sentence."
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