Road accident survivor turned safety advocate to share her story

This Thursday,November 25, Angela McShane, who survived a serious road incident over ten years ago, will share her powerful story to help raise awareness of the risks of drug and drink-driving.

More than a decade ago, Angela was struck down by a driver who was travelling at an excessive speed in a residential area. It later emerged that the driver was under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs at the time of the collision.

Following a course of intensive physiotherapy, Angela has now regained her health and delivers presentations to educate the public about road safety through the community interest company, The Reinvention, which she established with her husband.

Angela will be sharing her reflections on the ripple effect of a road traffic incident at an online event organised by the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ScORSA).

Angela McShane, road safety ambassador and Founder of The Reinvention, said: “I am delighted to be able to share my story with road safety professionals, fleet managers and small businesses at the upcoming ScORSA webinar.

“I hope to play my part in making our roads safer for all by talking about the consequences of reckless driving.”

Last year, across Great Britain, there were 84 fatal incidents and 562 serious incidents on the roads where the contributory factor ‘driver/rider impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) was assigned.  

In 2019, the most recent figures available, around 230 people were killed on our roads as result of a collision involving a driver who had been drinking alcohol.

Dr Karen McDonnell, Policy adviser at ScORSA, said: “Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is regarded by ScORSA as one of the ‘Fatal Four’- four common causes of serious and fatal collisions on our roads.

“ScORSA is working with organisations who employ people who drive for work in order to share life-saving safety messages. Driving for work is one of the most hazardous activities people can undertake and we want to help support employers to develop of safe systems of work.”

All ScORSA webinars are free to attend. You can hear Angela share her story on Thursday November 25at 11am. You can register your place here.