Luke Forner bstreetsmart Interview

26 year old Luke Forner of Merrylands will share the horrific details of his car crash experience with around 19,000 students at the bstreetsmart road trauma forum at Sydney's Allphones Arena. Now in its ninth year, bstreetsmart aims to educate young drivers about the importance of road safety by using real life, graphic examples of the consequences of dangerous driving. The event runs from Tuesday 19 August through to Thursday 21 August and is open to all year 10-12 students from across NSW and the ACT. The program has been so successful that it is now also being replicated in both Western Australia and South Australia.

What should have been a weekend of celebration for his best friend's birthday and Mother's Day, turned out to be a life changing incident for Luke who was just 22 at the time. Rather than spending Mother's Day with his mum, Luke woke up in Liverpool Hospital completely unaware that he had been involved in a serious crash as a result of drink-driving.

-I realised I was in serious condition because I was wearing a neck brace and my sheets were covered in blood,' said Luke. -The impact of my injuries really hit me hard when I realised I couldn't go to the toilet by myself.'

A fight had broken out at the scene of the party and, in a panic, Luke jumped in his car with his friend to drive home. He was nearly three times over the legal limit but thought he should be OK to drive.

-The biggest misconception I had about driving before my crash was that if you feel alright to drive then you can drive,' says Luke. -You can't make that judgement by yourself when you're intoxicated.'

While Luke's friend and passenger in the vehicle suffered a bruised sternum with chest pains for around two weeks, Luke's injuries were more severe.

-I broke my right ankle in two places,' says Luke. -I had deep cuts and swelling in my left knee and my wrists were extremely swollen and bruised as the steering wheel broke on impact. I had concussion as well.'

-When I got home from hospital I didn't leave my room for a month,' adds Luke. -I was too sore to walk and my swollen wrists prevented me from using crutches. I couldn't go up or down stairs either so I had to stay there like a prisoner which really depressed me.

-My brother and my father had to carry me to bathroom every time I needed to go. My father also had to sponge bath me every day which was depressing for a 22 year old man. I had to wrap my leg in a garbage bag and hang it out of the water while he washed me. I had to take four months off work without pay. By the time I was fit enough to go back to work I was almost $30,000 in debt. I had no car, my license was suspended for 18 months and I had a criminal record.'

Luke is now working again as an electrician and is passionate about sharing the road safety message with other young drivers.

-There is nothing scarier than waking up in a hospital and having no idea how you got there,' says Luke. -There is nothing more humbling than people telling you shouldn't be alive while you're in there. I paid every price there was to pay except my life. And it wasn't worth it.'

-The thing that scares me most looking back,' continues Luke, -is the fact that, that night was probably not the most intoxicated I have ever been whilst driving. It's not something I'm proud to admit but it's the truth. I got away with it so many times. I felt like I had some sort of special tolerance to alcohol that made me capable of drinking and driving until one day I woke up in a hospital.'

Founded by Julie Seggie and Stephanie Wilson, both trauma coordinators at Sydney's Westmead Hospital, bstreetsmart includes a dramatic car crash re-enactment in the morning and is supported by real life stories of car crash survivors. Following the morning session, students can then visit a number of interactive information displays and stands all focused on road safety issues. The same content is repeated over the three days.

-The dramatisation is very moving,' says bstreetsmart co-founder Julie Seggie. -You can literally hear a pin drop which is rare in a room filled with thousands of teenagers. It's stories like Luke's however that then drive the message home that this does happen.

-This is real and it's not just a dramatisation. It makes them think not only about their own driving habits but those of their friends as well. They could also wind up in the passenger seat just as Luke's friend did. It's about thinking twice before you get in a car whether you're the passenger or the driver.

-It's also about remembering to be responsible in the car for your safety as well as your passengers' and other drivers on the road,' said Julie.

For further information, visit www.bstreetsmart.org.

Interview with Luke Forner

Question: Can you tell us your road trauma story?

Luke Forner: Fortunately for me I didn't suffer from any psychological trauma from my accident. I don't remember a thing. The trauma came more from the realisation of what I had done, a few days after being in hospital, and finding out from anyone and everyone who was there just how lucky I was to escape death. Recovering from all the injuries was a slow and painful experience too. And, by the time I got back to work I was $30,000 in debt had no license for 18 months and my car was destroyed. So life was a bit depressing for a while.


Question: Can you talk about the injuries and recovery time?

Luke Forner: I broke my right ankle in two places. During the collision I slid down the driver's seat and my foot hit the firewall of the car behind the pedals which cracked the bones upwards. I didn't need surgery to correct it but the doctors told me I could in no way whatsoever put any pressure on that foot for two months or the bones in my shin would split apart. I had deep cuts and a lot of swelling in my right knee. I remember the nurse dipping cotton balls in alcohol and then pushing them down the holes in my knee with long tweezers and then pulling them back out every night while I was in hospital, then she would wrap it up in bandages because they couldn't stitch up cuts. I had a lot of bruising and swelling on my wrists because the steering wheel broke in my hands on impact. That stopped me using crutches and walking around for the first four weeks after the accident.


Question: What have you learnt from this experience?

Luke Forner: Never drive anywhere if you know you're going to be drinking. You can't always trust yourself to be responsible when you have your car keys in your pocket. The biggest thing I learnt looking back was that that decision affected so many people from my life. A lot of people who were at the crash scene thought they'd never see me again.


Question: How does the car accident still affect you, now?

Luke Forner: I lost about half of the soft tissue padding between my ankle and shin so standing up for long periods of time or squatting down can give me aches and pains in my right foot. Financially it set me back about four years so it's frustrating sometimes to think about where I could be in life now if it never happened. And, having a criminal record works against me sometimes with work as well.


Question: Why is it important to you to share your story at the bstreetsmart road trauma forum?

Luke Forner: I've done so many bad things in my short life I felt like it was time to use some of my experiences for good. Also, I know what it's like to be young and brave and think you have the world all figured out. I never listened to my parents advice or my teachers advice and I ended up learning the hardest way possible so I think hearing it from somebody who's still young and lived my get the message across a bit better.


Question: Why will you not spare any detail at the bstreetsmart road trauma forum when explaining your own story?

Luke Forner: I not proud of what I did but I'm not ashamed to admit I messed up either. The more I talk about it and share my story the more closure I have about the whole thing. Plus it's a serious thing we're talking about so no need to sugar coat it.


Question: What is your main piece of advice for other young Australians regarding drink-driving?
Luke Forner: Don't just think about your own health and safety when you decide to drive home. Think about your friends who are with you and other people on the road. My best mate was in the passenger's seat with me and was lucky not to be seriously hurt and if I had hit a car coming the opposite way when I crossed onto the wrong so of the road then we'd all be dead and I couldn't begin to imagine what impact that would have on my parents' lives. It's not just about you.


Question: What do you hope attendees take from the bstreetsmart road trauma forum?

Luke Forner: That there's a lot more to drink driving then caught by the cops and losing your license for six months.


Question: What is the number piece of advice you'd give an 18 year old driver?

Luke Forner: I'd say the same thing to them that the Magistrate said to me in court after he was done grilling me for a solid 20 minutes "We're not telling you can't go out and get drunk with your mates or have fun with your life, JUST DON'T DRIVE HOME AFTERWARDS! It's that simple." And, it made so much sense there then I swear.


Interview by Brooke Hunter