Simple mistake cost our son's life

THE road stretched ahead of Ian Sayers as he carefully swung his car out of a U-turn and began heading in the direction of his family's rented holiday cottage near Bordeaux.

"I realised I'd taken a wrong turn," he recalls. "Sandy was in the seat behind me, strapped in. We were talking, chatting away..."

It was only when the family's seven-seat Mitsubishi Chariot had reached the crest of a hill that Ian realised with horror that he was driving on the wrong side of the road, and there was no way he could avoid smashing into the articulated milk tanker coming towards them at 55mph.

The impact of the collision knocked him out for few moments. Dazed, he slowly opened his eyes to find the roof of the car torn away, and no sound from the seat behind him.

Heart pounding, Ian clambered into the back of the car and held his two-year-old son's hand. Sandy was unconscious but still breathing. When his tiny breaths stopped, Ian frantically tried to revive his son by giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation, but sadly, nothing could save him. A fireman at the scene broke the news – Sandy was dead.

"It's constantly with me," admits Edinburgh-born Ian as he reflects on the horrific accident on August 1, 2006. "I was responsible for what happened. It was a dreadful mistake."

Today design draughtsman Ian and his wife Julia are in the midst of a string of heartbreaking anniversaries – the accident, Sandy's funeral, and the subsequent inquest into his death that forced Ian to relive his dreadful mistake.

It's a challenging time, yet despite it all Ian has opted to set his grief aside and focus his energy instead on making sure no-one else makes the same mistake. He has just officially launched a major campaign – Keep Right/Kerb Right – for tourists travelling by car on the Continent.

At its heart is a simple sticker to be placed near the rearview mirror, a vital road safety reminder that could help save lives. For motoring tourists or migrant workers in Britain, there is a similar "keep left" sticker.

It's a simple idea but one which Ian – whose mother Joan and brothers Gordon and Donald live in Edinburgh – hopes can save lives.

It comes as the Foreign Office issues a seasonal warning to the eight million motorists driving abroad this year to be aware of road risks, pointing out that nearly a third have ended up on the wrong side of the road, while more than one in ten have driven the wrong way around a foreign roundabout.

It adds that a British driver is twice as likely to die on the road in Spain than in the UK, almost three times as likely in Greece and more than twice as likely in the US.

"As a family, we have just quietly tried to get on with this. We miss Sandy terribly, his loss was tragic and is constantly with me," says Ian.

"I regularly reflect on what happened but I've tried to deal with it by accepting what happened and trying to look forward. Having survived this awful accident myself, I feel I am obliged to help others to be aware of what can happen."

Ian's wife Julia and her two children from her first marriage stayed behind at their French holiday home when he set off with Sandy that fateful morning to buy bread for the family's breakfast.

They were just days into their first holiday together – ten days later Ian was reading his son's funeral eulogy and trying not to look at his tiny white coffin.

"I was a very confident driver, I'd driven across Europe before – perhaps I was too comfortable and too complacent," he recalls. "But since the accident I have heard so many anecdotes and of so many tragedies because someone made a moment's mistake and drove on the wrong side of the road. Yet there is nothing out there available to people to do anything about it."

He believes motorists are most at risk when they break their journey to refuel, stop for refreshments or to carry out a simple but perhaps distracting manoeuvre – such as a U-turn.

"It's easy to make a mistake when you rejoin the road. In my case I made a wrong turn, I came off the road and turned the car around and back on to the same road – but I was on the wrong side of the road.

"Sandy wasn't a distraction, it was entirely my fault."

Ian – raised in Balerno and now based in York – married Julia five years ago. He says: "My wife has been absolutely amazing. Many relationships could fail because of the anguish and stress something like this brings, especially when it was me who was responsible for it. Thankfully she has accepted what happened as the most awful mistake."

While Ian's accident happened on foreign soil, every year scores of tourists driving through Scotland encounter similar safety issues VisitScotland's regional director Sinead Guerin says: "We are fortunate that so many people from abroad want to see what Scotland has to offer. This can potentially result in a large volume of traffic and drivers unfamiliar with our roads which can present challenges in terms of road safety.

"We have been working with the police in regions throughout Scotland to highlight road safety to visitors.

"Our industry therefore has a major responsibility to ensure that car-touring visitors are inspired, relaxed and confident on our roads, in order that they stay safe and stay longer."

Amid the couple's grief there has at least been some hope for the future – their second son, Eugene will be a year old later this month.

"Sandy's wee brother reminds us of him all the time, he brings us happier memories of Sandy even if his loss is difficult to deal with.

"In some ways it's helpful that his birthday is coming soon – it means we get over the anniversaries of what happened by focusing on looking ahead to that."

The launch of his Drive Right Campaign last Friday coincided with the second anniversary of Sandy's death.

Hundreds of stickers have been printed and now Ian is optimistic that a key sponsor – perhaps a tourism agency or car hire company – can be found to help with their distribution.

"That I have managed to reach this milestone of the first deliveries of the sticker packs means a great deal to me," says Ian, 40.

"The results of this campaign will be difficult to measure and justify but my purpose is permanent: in his memory, to reduce the risk of a similar accident affecting any other family."

Straightforward sign that could avert tragedy
IAN Sayers is launching his campaign as millions of British motorists head to the Continent for summer breaks.

The Foreign Office has just issued a seasonal warning about the dangers of driving abroad to the estimated eight million motorists who will do so this year.

The Government campaign highlights the fact that nearly a third of Britons driving abroad are thought to have ended up on the wrong side of the road at some point. More than one in ten are said to have driven the wrong way around a foreign roundabout.

A British driver is twice as likely to die on the road in Spain than in the UK and almost three times as likely in Greece, according to statistics released by the Foreign Office.

• The Drive Right Campaign has 200 sticker packs available for Edinburgh Evening News readers. To claim one of the packs, e-mail your name and address to [e-mail].