All about excess…

Can you see a way of preventing all these needless road deaths in Portugal?

I think we will go on having these deaths of young people – because of the drug problem here. It’s the same in Lagos, as it is in Albufeira, or Faro: young people today go in for excesses. Excesses with alcohol, excesses with drugs, excess speed and nights without sleep. The combination is lethal.

Two of the boys killed last week took lessons with you, but never took their licences. Do you think this is because taking a driving licence is too expensive in Portugal?

Not at all. It’s not cheap, that’s true, but it’s not the reason young people give up. They give up because of a lack of commitment. Very often, their lessons are being paid for by their parents – but still 50-60% of pupils don’t end up actually taking their tests.

But they go on to drive?

Some of them do, yes.

In your career as an instructor, have you seen other pupils die on the roads?

I’ve been an instructor for 27 years, and have seen hundreds of youngsters get their licences. I don’t keep track of them all once they’ve left the school, but yes, there have been other deaths.

Does this shock you?

I am shocked because they’re young - just as I was shocked by the accident last weekend. But given the situation, there are things that no longer shock. These tragedies are all accidents waiting to happen.

Do driving schools try and make young people aware of the dangers?

Of course we do. That’s part of our job. The highway code, for example, isn’t just about rules of driving, it’s about the right kind of behaviour behind the wheel. I constantly try to make youngsters aware of the risks – but you have to be careful. If you say the same thing every time you give a theory lesson, pupils will just switch off and think “there he goes again!”

No, the truth is this kind of issue has to be tackled at home, and in the schools. I’ve had to do it with my children – and I can assure you, it is much, much harder to make them aware of the risks of partying and driving, or getting a lift with a friend who has been drinking, than simply seeing them off for the evening and settling down in front of the telly, or getting a good night’s sleep. I’ve had endless nights where I stay up until goodness knows what time just to collect them from a party and know they’re safe. It’s very hard work.

What you mean is that a lot of parents aren’t up for it?

It’s not for me to criticize other people – but if parents don’t act as the brakes for their children, who will? And where will their children end up?