The sister of a teenage road crash victim has spoken of her family’s heartache and warned drivers that “a split second can change lives forever”.
Scott MacKenzie was 17 when he died on his way to a party with friends two days after Christmas in 2008.
And now, his sister Claire MacKenzie has lent her voice to a hard-hitting Scottish Government campaign to warn against driving too fast on country roads.
Central to the project is a striking video highlighting the dangers of excess speed in the countryside by placing the viewer inside a speeding car with 360 degree views.
Mrs MacKenzie, 36, said “I find the video hard to watch but it has to be like to have that impact – it is quite real.
“Scott got in this car that was being driven by a young guy who was taking people back and fore to this party. He just left the house and Mam said ‘be careful’ and within 15 minutes we knew that he was dead.”
The impact on her own family has been severe: “The driver has been punished but we have life sentence. I have to watch the people I love most in the world, my Mam and Dad, hurting.”
After almost a decade since her brother’s death Mrs MacKenzie really only wants to get one point across to people: “think before you put your foot down.”
She said: “Danger is all around every day but the actions you take are your choices – that is what we can control. It is just trying to make sure people realise that a split second can change lives forever.”
Scott was on his way to a party when the 22 year old driver Ryan Cardosi lost control of his BMW 318 on the A882 near Bilbster.
Mr Cardosi admitted driving dangerously at up to 80mph and served around a year in jail, he was banned from driving for 10 years in 2009.
Sadly, Scott was one of many killed on north and north east rural roads and statistic over the last ten years point to the Highlands and Grampian being black sports for young people involved in crashes.
Some tallies of fatalities and casualties from local authority regions show the north of Scotland sometimes has double the number of other Scottish regions.
The last official data from 2016 showed a rise in fatalities with 60% coming on country roads.
Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf, said: “Every life lost on a country road is one too many. This campaign shows the true consequences of driving at an inappropriate speed on country roads.
“We want every driver in Scotland, particularly young men, to consider their actions and drive at an appropriate speed for the road conditions.”