It's hard to contemplate the death of young people in car accidents. Right now the country is in shock at the death of a group of six in a head on collision. While the death of these people is tragic and the tributes of family and friends is commendable, I find myself wondering why the press haven't aired the question yet, how many people was the car designed to carry safely? I have had cause to attend many fatal accidents and one thing that strikes me often is the difference that wearing a seatbelt can make to survivability of occupants. Sure there are occasions when unbelted occupants are thrown clear of wreckage that would otherwise have killed them, but I have been there and seen people die who would probably have survived had they not been rattled around inside the vehicle on impact i.e. had they been wearing a seatbelt. The country has itself to blame for the poor consideration shown by drivers, particularly the young and inexperienced, to the effects of high speed impacts on that bubble of machinery they are so blissfully and precariously racing along in. Why? Because driver education fails to make the reality of ugly mutilation in accidents known to drivers from day one. As a trainee paramedic I had fire in my belly and drove fast. After seeing how even the strongest vehicles can disintegrate in high speed impacts and seen first hand and in pictures the effects on the occupants, I slowed down. It was instant and permanent, like the effects of driving too fast. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones or whose lives have been affected by the poor driving of themselves or others. To survive a fatal accident is to be saddled with guilt and sadness for the rest of your life. The real tragedy of accidents is the harming of people who simply got in the way; the wrong place wrong time syndrome. Tragic because they had no part or blame in the events that led to their death or serious injury. The right place for speed is the race track or the air. You want to go fast? Try sky diving!