Seen too much: Bill Verheyen with wife Jan, holding a picture of sister Doreen West, who died in a car accident.
JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
SIXTEEN-year SES veteran Bill Verheyen has seen more road carnage than he cares to remember.
The trouble is, he can’t forget.
It’s impossible not to be moved when sitting in Bill’s Norlane lounge room listening to his litany of experiences.
This is what the Road Trauma Support Services volunteer brings when he talks to drivers undertaking court-ordered driver education program.
It’s as close to a road accident scene that the listener can get without actually being there.
Bill asks the program participants to close their eyes and imagine the scene he lays out before them.
He starts with the shrill sound of his pager alerting him to another collision in the northern suburbs.
Bill lets wife Jan know of the call out and jumps in his car to drive to the SES depot to collect the Corio unit’s road accident rescue gear.
He takes the group through his efforts to remain professional as he deals with death and serious injury while still recognising the sadness and anger in some deep part of his heart and soul.
He explains how he returns home and tries to deal with what he has just witnessed.
It’s become a lot more difficult lately, Bill admitted.
In fact, the former Corio SES training officer and controller had to give it away recently because he simply saw too many shattered lives.
“I got sick of cutting people out of cars,” he said simply.
Bill’s like that, matter of fact and direct, but an underlying depth of emotion is impossible to mistake.
“There have been many times when I’ve attended an accident on a straight piece of road and thought ‘Why the hell?’
“I just cannot understand how they’ve hit a tree or another car. It’s just such a senseless waste of life.
“Every time I see a dead young driver I think of what could have been. What could they have done with their life?
“These are not stupid kids but often its just one stupid decision.”
Bill admitted to losing count of the times he had woken but couldn’t get back to sleep because of the thoughts running through his head.
“It takes a huge emotional toll,” he said.
“Sometimes I’ll talk about it with my family to help process it.”
The subject brings up deep-seated emotions for Jan as well. Her sister was killed in a road accident in New Zealand four years ago.
Jan accompanies Bill to the group sessions to express her feelings about losing a loved one to the roads and one unthinking act.
“Ten years ago we had 9/11 that claimed 3000 lives but we’ve lost that many on the roads in the last 10 years,” Bill said quietly.
“That was a one-off but the road toll is not.”
• Next week: The accident Bill Verheyen can’t forget.
