A STUDLEY woman who was left paralysed after being hit by car has shared her story to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Sheila Vale suffered life-changing injuries while walking her dog in October 2019.

She shares her story in a video released by Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership to remember all those who have lost their lives or been seriously injured in a collision in the county.

It comes as 14 people lost their lives and 228 people suffered serious, often life changing injuries, as the result of a road traffic collisions in Warwickshire last year.

In the video, Sheila says: “You never get into a vehicle thinking: ‘I want to go and run someone over’ but it only takes a split second or a few seconds where you take your eyes off the road. As drivers, we’ve all done it.

"We’ve all seen something in the field, or at the side of the road, or a beautiful rainbow that’s just taken our eyes off the road and we’ve lost concentration. There’s even times when you will have got home on a regular journey and thought: ‘I don’t remember driving that bit.’

“Concentrate. Focus on the road. The person who hit me took his eyes off the road for eight seconds – which isn’t that long – and he changed my life forever. I’m sure it has had an impact on his life too. Could you live with that?”

As part of the World Day of Remembrance, faith and community leaders, individuals and organisations across the county are being asked to remember road traffic victims in their prayers or services on November 21.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “It is important that we never forget the individuals whose lives have been lost on Warwickshire’s roads.

“The ripple effects of losing someone in a collision are far reaching and affect not only the immediate family but friends, work colleagues and the wider community.

“That’s why we are asking the public to stop and think for a moment on the 21 November about the number of people who needlessly die or are seriously injured every year on our roads. We want people to stop and reflect on their own use of the roads and how we can all contribute to making them safer by being better road users.”