Car accident and noisy kids

We’ve got into the habit of driving around Scotland when we can.

Today I decided to take the family to Glen Afric - which we found to be a wild expanse of rugged hills, natural pine-forest, and ice-gouged mountians.

I’ll be posting up pics later on the blog I mentioned to cover our travels of Scotland.

Point is, some of these journeys can be pretty long. Our kids - 7, 4, and 2 years - are usually pretty good, but sometimes they just can’t help but get restless when they spend long hours in the car.

Today was no exception.

Journey there was nearly one-and-a-half hours, and they were pretty fine with that.

But on the way back I thought to drive along a different route. It turned out to be a single track most of the way, and driving in the dark on roads that threaten to be icy aren’t a lot of fun. So it took a lot longer.

And Daddy needs to keep his concentration, to keep us all safe on the road.

As we finally neared civilisation at Inverness, the eldest two were getting a little boisterous, and they got shouted at.

Trouble is, it’s hard to appreciate and be thoughtful of a driver when you’re a young child.

Especially when it’s late, it’s gone past tea-time, and you’ve been cooped up in a car for a long time.

As we were just about to reach Nairn, and home, headlights of a car coming in the other direction - and just in front of us - suddenly swerved into the middle of the road. Then veered away and plunged into the woodlands at the side.

I doubt I have any useful skills at the scene of an accident, but I always carry my mobile phone for emergencies at work, so I immediately pulled over and got out of the car. The road was busy, and a number of other vehicles did the same.

Even though only seconds had passed, a handful of people were already dashing to the wreckage. So I dialled 999.

The car had apparently clipped the grass verge at the side of the road. The driver, unable to control it, had left the road at around 50-60 mph, over a ditch, and smashed through a tree. The vehicle came to rest sunk around 45 degrees on its side in boggy woodland.

First on the scene included an off-duty fireman and off-duty nurse, and they seemed in control, so I simply relayed what details I could to the emergency call center.

The driver - a man around 50-60 years old - was able to climb out, apparently unscathed. A woman of similar age was trapped in the passenger seat.

Another man in the rear seat was pale and unsconcious - barely breathing and bleeding from the mouth. He, too, was trapped against the door.

I kept back and more people came down to help, including another off-duty nurse, so I went back to the side of the road to direct the emergency services to the location, and a fire engine was quickly on the scene.

Two more fire engines, two police cars, and finally two ambulances, eventually arrived at the scene and took everything in hand.

All things in hand, I went to our car, lifted out the eldest, and showed her the scene - the car on its side in the bog, the smashed front and broken tree, and firemen trying to hack apart the car to help release the two trapped passengers.

I pointed out to her that this is precisely why Daddy needs to concentrate on driving so much, and why it’s so important to be quiet when asked to do so. It only takes a moment of lapsed concentration to cause an accident.

I took her back and briefly showed our 4-year old the scene and repeated the lesson.

Our kids are usually pretty good on long journey, but sometimes they just can’t help but get restless when they spend long hours in the car.

But hopefully the sight of the car wreck will help them appreciate why Daddy needs to keep his concentration, to keep us all safe on the road.

UPDATE: The rear passenger later died in hospital.