In 2010, Gary Swainston hit a pedestrian using a zebra crossing with fatal consequences. The motorist was jailed for 16 months for careless driving and while behind bars, Mr Swainston, under the burden of his actions urged a letter to be written to his local authorities pleading for a safer system to prevent this happening to other people in the future.
The Northen Echo reports that Gary Swainston successfully campaigned for road safety improvements from behind bars. Photo:NorthenEcho
There is no question beind the tragedy, loss and heatbreak that comes with a fatal road collision. Gary Swainston told police he did not see 59-year-old Malcolm Curnow crossing the road before he hit him, causing fatal injuries.The father-of-two was jailed for 16 months at Durham Crown Court in July, after he admitted causing Mr Curnow’s death by careless driving.
But while in jail the 45-year-old wrote to his wife, Susan, urging her to contact Durham County Council and MP Pat Glass on his behalf to improve road safety between the Tesco store and a primary school in Annfield Plain, near Stanley.
Mr Swainston, a heavy plant operator, said: “It had to be upgraded because what happened was in the dark and could have happened to anyone. I am pleased something is being done because, hopefully, it will stop anything like this happening again.”
Work is now underway to create a puffin crossing at the site, which has sensors to detect the presence of pedestrians waiting, and as they are crossing the roadDurham County Councillor Joan Nicholson, who represents the Annfield Plain division, said the authority had already been looking at ways to improve road safety at the site for several years, but the fatal accident, and Swainston’s letter, had helped move the process forward.
Durham County Councillor Joan Nicholson, who represents the Annfield Plain division, said the authority had already been looking at ways to improve road safety at the site for several years, but the fatal accident, and Swainston’s letter, had helped move the process forward.
“There were a number of issues with that road and the county has looked at a number of different options for quite a while now, but wanted to get the best one, which would give us the result we needed. The whole thing though has been a sad affair.”
Improvements for road safety are underway after Mr Swainston’s campaign to improve the crossing. Photo:NorthenEcho
The incident happened on November 3, 2010, and Swainston, of Queensway, Shotley Bridge, Consett, was jailed by Judge Christopher Prince at Durham Crown Court in September. He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to take an extended driving test before being allowed back on the road. But three months into his sentence he was released by judges sitting at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, who said his original sentence was ‘too long’.
Judge Charles Wide QC replaced Swainston’s jail term with a ten-month suspended sentence and ordered him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work in the community. Swainston said: “I was driving in the correct manner but I simply did not see the man.”
Mr Curnow, who was disabled, was making his way across Station Road slowly, just before 5.30pm when it was dark. Other cars had stopped to let Mr Curnow cross, but Swainston carried straight on in his VW Passat without slowing down and hit him at just under 30mph. Mr Curnow, of Castle Court, Annfield Plain, suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital 12 days later.
In 2007, 1,049 ballons were released to remember the number of young lives lost everyday on the world’s roads; turning tragedy into action.
The life of Mr Curnow can never be replaced but often, it is through tragedy that action is taken to prevent furture fatalities. As the global youth network for road safety is witness, road traffic crashes kill 400,000 young people every year on the world’s roads and many of these crashes are caused by human error, careless driving or poor road safety infrastructure. The 1.3 million people killed on the world’s roads annually is testament to the urgent improvements required for road safety on all levels.
In 2007 at the United Nations World Youth Assembly for Road Safety, 400 young people released 1,049 ballons to the mark the lives lost on the world’s roads every day. In a speech, a young lady who had lost her brother to a road crash pledged, ‘We will not let your death be in vain and as young people will take action for road safety everywhere’.
The Decade of Action for Road Safety calls for concerted efforts to improve road safety around the world.
Road deaths will always be a heatbreaking account, turning tragedy into action is the reason why YOURS created the youth movement for road safety; because too many of our peers are being killed on the roads and action needs to be taken. We pursue a range of actions that prevent these tragedies happening to ensure our young people are safer on the roads. This also applies to the campaigning and implementation of road safety infrastructure that can enable road users to be safer coupled with education to make safer decisions.
This story illustrates road safety action required on a number of levels; courtesy on the road, safer road behaviour, appropriate road rules and implementation of appropriate pedestrian crossings. Mr Swainston will forever live with his actions but campaigning for safer roads to prevent this happening again is a step towards safer roads and preventing the carnage that our roads can bring.