“If I pass a particular location or see it’s an anniversary then the memories come back. I was fortunate to meet some very special people at unfortunately their lowest time in their lives. I hope I supported them and made their difficult journey just a bit easier.”
Road Safety Officer, Tanya Gorbutt, recalls her past role as a Family Liaison Officer (FLO) for Essex Police during Brake Road Safety Week.
This year’s Road Safety Week from 17 November is victim focussed, with an emphasis on celebrating the work of the incredible people who support families after a road death or serious injury.
Tanya worked as a police FLO for thirty years, before retiring from the force in 2021. Here, she supported hundreds of families who’d been affected by road traffic collisions. When asked what the role entailed, Tanya said:
“As a FLO your duties are anything and everything. The first rule was to never make any promises to a family. Always remain professional and to remain human. To keep focused on the law and procedures but to also think, If I was in their position what would I want someone to do for me? Then to ask them. To empower them at the lowest point in their lives, to help them to feel involved and to start regaining some control during a stressful and emotional time in their lives. Which was very rewarding.”
During her policing career, Tanya witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by collisions, to individuals, families, and often whole communities. She found the deaths involving children particularly painful – to see a life taken too early.
When asked to describe the range of emotions experienced by someone who’s been affected by a collision, she said:
“Anger, frustration, loss, guilt, shock, numbness, disbelief, anxiety, confusion, helplessness, loneliness, denial, depression, revenge. As well as the physical emotions of lack of sleep, loss of appetite, loss of emotions and feelings all of these can contribute to the person feeling “all over the place”. The seven stages of grief would often be visible, especially if deployed to a family and you remain with them for a considerable amount of time. This could be one to two years from collision to Crown court hearing and beyond if there is a civil hearing as well.”
She added: “No two fatalities are the same, no two families are the same. They were all unique. There were so many special families over the years, but now that I’m retired, I try not to think about them too much, that’s part of my coping strategy. If I pass a particular location or see it’s an anniversary, then the memories come flooding back. I was fortunate to meet some very special people at unfortunately their lowest times in their lives. I hope I supported them and made their difficult journey just a bit easier.”
Having seen and felt the trauma of so many people, Vision Zero is a cause close to Tanya’s heart. She added:
“No one deserves to die on our roads. We believe road death and serious injury is completely preventable and I urge all Essex communities to think about how they can travel safely. Vision Zero is more than just an aspiration, it is a social movement which we must all get behind. Let’s stop talking about road traffic collisions as unfortunate events. They can be prevented.”
Tanya now works as a Road Safety Technician for SERP, where she supports with the delivery of road safety education and engagement within schools.
Sign our Vision Zero pledge today, join our road safety movement, and take a stand in accepting unnecessary road death: www.saferessexroads.org/visionzero
