A Canadian mum is urging parents to show their teens a photo she posted online of a car crash that could have been much worse.
Beth Corcoran Middleton of New Brunswick wrote on Facebook this weekend that her daughter, Maya, had been involved in a serious car accident earlier that week. Maya had been a passenger in the vehicle and was "lucky to be alive", Middleton wrote.
"She suffered a broken femur, which has now been operated on, and she has a rod in her leg. She has a broken wrist and is sporting a green cast to match her prom dress and it is her favorite colour ... She has a cracked pelvis, several cuts and A LOT of bruising," Middleton wrote.
But along with the update on Maya's injuries, her mother also included a plea. "If you have kids of driving age or soon to be driving age, please show this picture to them," Middleton wrote.
"These were good kids. There was no texting, no drugs, no alcohol, no speeding. This happened in a small community where the speed limit is 70 (I believe). This did not happen on a highway, or in a big city. It unfortunately was a bad judgment call."
Wait an extra 30 seconds
Middleton urged parents to share her post to help keep their kids safe, adding that if a photo is worth a thousand words than this one speaks volumes.
"Kids do not have the driving experience to decide, 'Yes I have enough time to pull out before that oncoming vehicle,'" Middleton wrote.
"We all need to emphasise to our children and even remind ourselves to take that extra 15-30 seconds before going through that stop sign, that yellow flashing light, that yield, coming out of a driveway or parking lot. An oncoming vehicle does not have to be going fast to do that much damage to another vehicle or worse a motorbike. It could literally SAVE A LIFE."
"If you are questioning 'Do I have enough time?' then that tells you — you need to wait that extra 30 seconds."