On 21st October 2023, Abbie Devanney died in a car crash caused by dangerous driving. It was her 18th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abbie was one of four passengers in a car driven by Charlie Whittaker, then 17, who had passed his driving test only six months earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whittaker lost control after the car hit standing water and aquaplaned on a bend. The vehicle overturned, partially ejecting Abbie from the rear seat. Abbie was killed instantly. An automated crash notification alerted Abbie\u2019s family while she lay dead at the roadside. The three other teenagers in the car suffered serious injuries that will affect them for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Durham Constabulary produced a devastating and thought-provoking film, which is now available on YouTube here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abbie did not have to die that night. Charlie Whittaker had not taken alcohol or drugs. He was showing off. Forensic analysis at the scene in Leadgate, County Durham, showed that Whittaker was travelling at about 70 mph when he entered the bend and hit standing water. A trained police driver later replicated the approach as part of the investigation, and could not safely take the bend at more than 64 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whittaker had removed the insurance tracker fitted to his car only days earlier. Videos on his ‘phone showed he habitually drove at speed, and on occasions, filmed himself driving dangerously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whittaker was sentenced to five years and four months in prison after admitting causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His actions left Abbie’s family and friends with a life sentence of grief. Her life ended needlessly on what should have been a celebration. She became an adult on the day she died. For her family, every future 21st October, her birthday, will also mark the day they lost her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The case is one of many that have renewed calls for Graduated Driver Licensing, including restrictions on newly qualified drivers carrying young passengers or driving during the highest-risk hours of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We cannot wait for the Government to introduce new licensing regulations when tragedies such as Abbie’s are happening now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what can be done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practical terms, it means calling out bad driving whenever you witness it. Report dangerous or careless driving by uploading dashcam footage via the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (Operation Snap<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n I encounter instances of careless and dangerous driving every day of my working life, both with my pupils and when I am driving alone. I report every incident to the police. Not all of them result in a prosecution, but in many cases, the driver receives a warning about their behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent examples of dangerous, careless and inconsiderate driving I have encountered during driving lessons include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are not rare exceptions. Variations of them occur around learner drivers almost every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are aware of a driver in your family or circle of friends who shows off, posts their dangerous driving on social media, or bullies and intimidates other drivers, call them out. Ask them to watch Durham Constabulary’s film about Abbie. Do anything that will make them stop and think about the consequences of their attitudes or actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you know you drive too fast, take unnecessary risks or show off behind the wheel, talk to a driving instructor. Book a refresher lesson<\/a>. We are trained to help people identify and reflect on their risky driving, and will give you frank and accurate advice, along with strategies to overcome competitiveness behind the wheel<\/a>, driving too fast and recognising where control of a vehicle may be lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It may feel uncomfortable to have your driving assessed and your shortcomings constructively criticised, but failing to address them could prove fatal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whittaker did not set out to kill Abbie or seriously injure her friends in that car, but that was the consequence of his choices. Those choices denied her the chance to build a family, a life and a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abbie’s family remember her as funny and kind; an intelligent girl who left a lasting impression on hundreds of people, and who is now desperately missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amy, Abbie’s younger sister, said: “If you drive like this again and again, you have to acknowledge that it could happen to you \u2013 you are not invincible. The pain that me and my family have been through should be enough to motivate someone to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Abbie\u2019s story makes just one driver slow down, stop showing off or think twice before taking a risk, another family may be spared the grief that hers now carries every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n