Road crash injuries
The Chair corrected the record, and Senator Flynn continued the discussion by speaking from personal experience of a serious childhood crash. She stressed the lifelong impact of road collisions and the need for better prevention.
Other Senators spoke about the tragedy over the weekend when we lost seven members of society due to car crashes. One young woman was knocked down and six more people were injured, including a child. In 2007, in my first time to ever be in a national newspaper, I was referred to as a smash crash girl; a young woman who had broken her two arms, two legs and two ankles in a really serious car crash in the year 2000. I know from first-hand experience after numerous operations, spending time in critical care and spending three years of my childhood in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children the impact an accident can have on a person's life. When I was coming into work here a few weeks ago, somebody tipped the back of my car. I said that it was okay; that is not an accident, it is only a tip. I blessed my face and said, "Thank God everyone is okay." I never went through insurance. I got my brother to fix it that evening. I know what it is like to be in a serious accident.
What I cannot understand is that since the year 2000, people have to wear a safety belt and they get penalty points and we have drink-driving laws. We have dealt to a certain extent with all of that and with wearing safety belts and not having drunk drivers on our roads, etc. I would absolutely love real action on our roads to reduce speed and increase visibility. I have seen people out walking in all-black clothes. If I had any power in these Houses, the first thing I would do is ban people from walking and running in all black clothes. It is absolutely terrifying to be driving on country roads when people barely come up and then you notice it is a person and they could have been knocked down, and that is anybody. Now is the time for action. We can stand here and send our thoughts and condolences to everybody who has lost their lives in an accident and to their family members, but what we really need now is action. I would absolutely love a debate on what we can do, as legislators, to make our roads safe again and invest in campaigns that will make people safer, including cyclists.