Retired policeman Ernie wants to share his life lessons with today's motorists

THERE is nothing in any movie or police procedural that could compare with the horrendous sight of six people cut in two after sheet metal ripped through their bodies.

Retired police officer Ernie Lewis and his colleagues in the Birmingham Police Force literally had to match torsos with legs after they were called to the road traffic collision.

For years, the retired police officer has done good in his community both in the UK, and in Bantry, where he was a founding member of Bantry Lions Club. But the rising number of road deaths in Ireland persuaded the 91-year-old to offer his services to the community, once again, by visiting schools to give young motorists the benefit of his years on the job, and his advanced driving skills.

Despite the fact that he is still processing the passing of his beloved wife Phyllis, who died on March 19th last, Ernie prepared a memo, which he shared with The Southern Star.

Ernie mentioned the gruesome death of the six as an example of the fact that a vehicle travelling at, say 60kph, is one thing, but when brakes are applied, every object in the vehicle that is not tied down continues to travel at the same speed. These objects become missiles. No one thinks of these things unless they are pointed out, Ernie points out.

Ernie came to live in Bantry in 2004. He had come to West Cork to visit one of his two daughters and he and his wife, Phyllis, decided this was the place for them.

As a former district governor of the Lions Club in the UK, his first point of call was to join the Lions Club, but he found out there wasn’t one. He said they needed 21 members to form a club, and within two months they were up and running. It is still in existence today, having raised countless amounts for local charities.

One of their most endearing offerings was the cuddly toy lions that ambulance personnel give to children who are stressed in medical situations.

There are so many strings to Ernie’s bow, it’s hard to pick a strand and follow it. But after a lengthy conversation in his beautifully furnished and warm home at the Skibbereen Retirement Village, it is easy to see why he has been described at various intervals of his life as having an ‘inspiring disposition.’

Bernie was a member of Birmingham city’s police force from 1952 to 1966, and then he transferred to Lincolnshire county police, where he served until 1977. Two near escapes were all the persuasion he needed to leave the police force.

His next vocation in life was the repair, maintenance and restoration of properties – a job he enjoyed until his second retirement.

‘I’ve led an interesting life,’ Ernie said, who still seems content with his lot now, including the comfort and support of the retirement village, which has been his home since 2016.

‘I think his lordship up there (god) is basically repaying me for what I’ve done throughout my life,’ he said.

As a policeman, he said he worked with a sense of service, and a belief in the importance of showing kindness to others. So, it is with a sense of kindness that he would like motorists – of all ages – to realise that a car is not a toy, it is a lethal weapon that can kill or maim for life.

Comparing a car with a gun, he said that with a gun a person inserts a cartridge, releases the safety, takes aim and fires. A car is similar in that people insert a key, switch it on, and head off, fully loaded.

‘You are now in charge of a missile that can not only kill a number of people, it can also kill you, or injure you for life.’

He explains how a full car – three in the back and two in the front – means extra weight which can lessen braking speed, efficiency and balance.

‘The amount of control you have also depends on the road surface, camber, weather conditions and greasy surfaces.

‘Danger comes when, after a dry spell, you have rain. With continued usage by vehicles, a coat of rubber and oil drippings coast the road surface, and with the wet on top of that you have a skid pad and this is emphasised on corners bends and junctions where brakes may need to be applied.'

Ernie advises motorists to always drive two to three feet from the edge of the road if possible.

‘Keeping too close means you encounter leaves, potholes, drain covers, loose gravel and crumbling road edges which can unbalance your braking and steering,’ he said.

Aqua-planing happens when tyres are unable or unfit to disperse the amount of water on the road. It will lift the tyre, or tyres, completely off the road so that you have no control whatsoever over the vehicle. It will act like a boat and float.

Travelling at 60kph is not a problem – until you have to stop sharply for whatever reason, said Ernie. ‘It’s the loose items in the car that continue to travel at that speed are the problem.’

The laptop on the back shelf is no longer a laptop – it is a missile travelling at 60kph that can hit you on the back of the head and kill you. It should go without saying that one should never drink or take drugs if intending to drive.

And last, but by no means least, is the human element – bravado, showing off, talking on a mobile phone while driving.

‘Remember,’ Ernie concluded, ‘you are in charge of a lethal weapon and your life is at stake. It is much better to be 30 minutes late in this life, than 30 years too early in the next.