ULLAPOOL man Donald Geddes was one of only 15 people in Scotland to be commended at last week's annual British Red Cross Humanitarian Citizen Awards.
Donald, 25, has been commended for significantly contributing to road safety education in the Highlands and Islands over the past seven years.
The Awards, which took place at the Houses of Parliament in London last Saturday (14 November), saw fifteen young Scots being shortlisted for a commendation, for their achievements and contributions to the lives of others.
Donald began working with Northern Constabulary shortly after a serious road traffic collision on the Ullapool to Dingwall road in 2001, which left him partially sighted and with long term health problems.
His commendation is a result of his efforts to educate young drivers and highlight the responsibility of owning a licence and the responsibility that goes with that.
In addition he has provided presentations to various schools and colleges as well as recently reaching out to young soldiers at Fort George and young footballers at Scottish First Division challengers, Ross County.
It was the first time the Force had been approached by a young driver, who only a year after his crash and with many consequent health problems, was willing to commit to an ongoing road safety campaign.
His ongoing work aims to highlight the challenges young drivers face through a combination of over confidence and a lack of experience. It also brings home to young drivers the potential consequences and effects on their lives of such a preventable crash. Through his work Donald has provided young drivers with a real life perspective on living with disability as a direct result of his high speed crash.
Road Safety Officer for Northern Constabulary, Laura Fisher said: "Donald has worked tirelessly with no financial reward. He has opened his heart about the most costly mistake of his life and the effect it has had on himself and his family.
"He has devoted a vast amount of his own time to travelling throughout the country helping Police and other road safety organisations to promote safer roads and good driver behaviour through the use of his DVD “Just Another Day”.
"From the feedback we receive and the regular invites back there is no doubt that Donald has significantly helped change the perspectives of young drivers in the area.
We are delighted that his efforts have been recognised by the British Red Cross."
Donald has also worked with Road Safety Scotland (RSS) on its Young Driver initiative, launched at Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow in 2005 and his DVD is part of the package for RSS’s Crash Magnets resource.