Fatal mistake: Drunk driver calls for ‘shock factor’ road safety campaigns in wake of WA crash deaths

A drunk driver jailed for killing a man while behind the wheel has called for hard-hitting road safety adverts that use stories like his to illustrate the tragic outcomes of poor decisions. Having carried the unbearable weight of guilt from the 2004 fatal crash for two decades, Paul Turley has started speaking about Road Safety at WA schools, community centres, and corporate events. With the State’s road toll climbing to a 10-year-high, Mr Turley has urged authorities to produce campaigns with “shock factor” to cut through to motorists. The Baldivis man believes changing the narrative to portray how a perpetrator’s mistake can ruin multiple lives could be an impactful message. “To have someone from my side, step in and offer a different approach by saying ‘this is what I did, this is how what prison is like, and this is what living with a death on your conscience for the rest of your life is like’ — that’s going to be big for a lot of people to hear,” he said. “I would give anything to go back and change it so that my victim didn’t die that night. But I can’t.” Mr Turley acknowledged that a perpetrator’s point-of-view can be difficult for the loved ones of road trauma victims to hear as well as being controversial in the community. But he said it was time for a “shock factor”, because the message wasn’t getting through. He believes anything that can act as a deterrent is worth consideration. “I’m trying to make sure that he didn’t die in vain, that he didn’t die for nothing,” Mr Turley said. “I’m doing everything I can. The next best thing I can do, is talk about it, share my experiences, share my learnings. “I’m sure a lot of people can learn from it and hopefully not make a similar mistake.” Mr Turley said that while in jail, two hard-hitting adverts he had seen growing up would replay in his mind. One a health ad about the dangers of alcoholism and how it can make people animal like. The other a road safety campaign that showed a family being thrown from a car during a crash, as rock band Simple Plan’s “How Could This Happen To Me” played in the background. While the messaging proved too-little, too-late for Mr Turley’s victim, he believes that more campaigns like this could cut through. “I’d like to think that if things had had a bigger impact on me before, then maybe it wouldn’t have happened,” Mr Turley said. “But hindsight is a wonderful thing.” University of Sydney marketing associate professor Catherine Sutton-Brady agrees that advertising that shocked was ideal because it often sparked emotion and stays with an audience fir longer. She did, however, warn that there was a fine line in how much gore an audience could take before they switch off to the message. “Some of the more effective campaigns in other jurisdictions and even in other countries, it’s often ones where they haven’t shown you much gore. “They have shock but in a way that makes you think about it without having to see blood or smashed windscreens. “ She recalled one advert from Northern Ireland which resonated with her. It contrasts a blissful group of school kids having fun in a field to a young man rushing around home to get ready before getting in his car and speeding. A short time later the car flips, crashes into the field and kills the children. “His car ends up on top of these kids in the field but all you see are their hands. There’s no actual gore. It’s just a real shock factor,” she said. “Then it says ‘speed can kill and in the last year in Northern Ireland 28 children died on our roads’. That was the 28 children. It’s showing you what that number means.” Since his release from prison Mr Turley has carried out multiple fundraisers to honour the memory of his victim and is on track to launch his own charity “WHAT4” for the cause. He said he hoped to: “continue his purpose of mentoring young people to be the best version of themselves”. Despite his efforts, Mr Turley questions whether true redemption is something he can ever achieve. He hasn’t spoken with his victim’s family but holds out hope that his open invitation to meet them is taken up someday. “I would really like one day, if they were open to it, to meet, if he has the kids or grandkids,” he said. “I’m trying to be the best person I can be. Trying to be the best example I can be. I’m trying to change mindsets before a life-changing event but also show people that it’s not how you start, its how you finish. “We all mess up — it’s what you do next that matters.”