Thomas and his parents’ advice to convince him of the danger of certain attitudes, such as driving after drinking: “A wrong ride could cost me my life”
TREVISO. Tommaso Durante is 23 years old, son of Rosalba Lagonigro, after almost four years of driving license he begins to have more driving experience and to use the car also for long-haul travel, usually alternating between friends.
But regardless of the duration of the trip, he always has the advice of his parents, especially his mother Rosalba, in his head, the first of all is to be concentrated and calculate all possible contingencies to be ready to brake.
What do your parents tell you before you take the car?
“When I go out and come back late he tells me not to drink and if I get in the car with someone he asks me who will drive. My mother makes recommendations if the road is wet or there is particular traffic, but they focus more on prevention: they send me messages, images and videos relating to the accidents that other children have made to make me understand that it is a moment, in a evening, spoil everything. ”
How do you consider their approach?
“My parents have never transmitted anxiety to me, they warn me every time I go out and when I’m in the car I think back to what they told me. The fact that they often tell me helps me remember their advice better. ”
What is the advice they gave you that you think is the most valid?
“There are two pieces of advice that I find useful. The first is to calculate all possible occurrences and be ready to brake. The second is that if it happens that you have been drinking or that the driver has been drinking or is not particularly reliable to call them even if it is late, or call a taxi, rather than risking your life.
Have you ever called your parents home feeling unsafe with your friends?
I did it once, a person I didn’t know well gave me a lift, I saw that he continued to drink and so I preferred to call my parents. My dad came and took me and my friends home, we felt safer ».
What do you fear most when you are driving?
«I have no particular fears, in general I am calm. But to think that accidents can happen due to a set of factors that do not depend only on me, but also on other drivers, this makes me think a lot ».
Have you ever been in an accident?
«I had just gotten my driver’s license, I did a rear-end collision without any particular damage, luckily. I called my parents, who scolded me. I was distracted for a moment and I lost those precious meters for braking, luckily I only touched the car in front. A non-traumatic experience that fortunately served. Above all, I learned prudence and concentration, and that we must always be careful ».