³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

I love speed; ever since I had my first moped it was great. 30 mph seemed like I was flying and I have memories of scraping the pedals on every bend. When I was 17 I upgraded to my first 'proper' motorbike – my first was just 100cc but it felt incredibly fast.

I had bigger bikes until I was 19, then I passed my driving test and moved onto 4 wheels. My Vauxhall Viva was just 1159cc, but it had rear wheel drive and I used to think I was the worlds greatest driver - blasting down country lanes like my rally heroes and going sideways whenever the crossply tyres lost grip on some mud or a damp patch.

Jon with his firefighter colleagues

Now I'm 49, a father of two wonderful children and still love speed - but now I know better and restrict that love of speed to the race tracks.

I've been racing on circuits for the last two years and it's amazing not to have worry about speed limits, anything coming the other way, people crossing the road and virtually nothing to crash into – unlike normal roads which are littered with lamp posts, walls, buildings etc.

You obviously still don't want to crash - but it's a safer environment and if you do have a mishap, you have the knowledge that you will have professional help within seconds.

A friend's funeral - "the worst day of my life"

I have had the pain of my two best friends losing their lives in car accidents in the last ten years. The day I queued with 500 members of Jim's family and friends to throw a handful of soil on top of his coffin in front of his Mum & Dad was quite simply the worst day of my life.

Jim was a rear seat passenger in a Peugeot 106 that lost control on a country lane. Everyone else in the car was completely unharmed, but as the 106 slid sideways Jim's head had hit the side window at the same time as a fence post. Jim was killed instantly. Twenty two years old, loved by everyone who met him and with a great career and future in front of him; snatched away by a moment of madness.

Understanding the dangers

During my 29 years in the Fire Service I have had to deal with hundreds of similar incidents and now my passion is to educate young people – those most at risk of being killed or seriously injured in a road accident than at any other time of their lives.

Jon's sons know the danger of speed

It never ceases to amaze me how many times you see people not wearing their seat belts – particularly in the back. The poor attitude of so many drivers is scary and depressing, every day we have to cope with poor, inconsiderate and downright aggressive driving.

When you add inexperience, adrenalin, loud music and sometimes drink and drugs, it's no wonder that our young drivers and riders top the fatality list by a long way.

Losing a life is too high a price

This is why I'm now devoted to trying to pass my experiences on – to get them to think, make commonsense decisions and to think about the impact that either killing themselves or someone else will have on so many people, their families, friends and those that have to pick up the pieces – sometimes literally.

Jon at Sandwell College

The work I do involves talking to young people in schools and colleges. I use some excellent videos and pictures. I don't talk down or lecture to them, the whole emphasis is accurately reflected in the title of the package "Your Choice on the Road".

Sometimes I work with a woman called Sara Simpson. Her 14-year-old son, Matthew, was killed 2 years ago, by a speeding uninsured unlicensed driver. She talks openly about how she had to identify her son in the mortuary, the funeral and how she has had to try and cope with life now he has gone.

I honestly and sincerely believe that my work makes a difference and that if it only prevents one young person losing their life or from being injured, that it's worth it.

===

Jon wrote the above article as part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ WM campaign Drive to Stay Alive