Whangārei man in crash 45 years ago now teaching driving skills

Neville Redfern was in a serious motorbike accident 45 years ago, 100m from his house in Whangārei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A motorbike crash 100m from his house in Whangārei in 1976 drastically changed the life of then 18-year-old Neville Redfern.

It has been 45 years since the crash turned the then ballroom and Latin dancer's life upside down and Redfern claims he's not lived a day without pain.

Now he's working as a driving instructor and as well as teaching his students driving skills, he also warns them of the dangers of Northland's roads.

He grew up knowing that corner and was not expecting a car coming in the wrong direction that particular day. He had no time to react and rammed straight into the car, hitting hard on his right knee and broke his hip.

He was in the hospital for more than 12 weeks, most of that time in traction. The anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee was destroyed and because there was not much the doctors could do surgically at that time, they put everything back together and asked him "to survive", said Redfern.

"Before the incident, I would take part in dance competitions and be also working to become a professional photographer. But the damage to my hip and the anterior tear in the ligament of my knee saw the end to it.

"I started considering myself as damaged goods. My ability to create and maintain a healthy relationship took a hit as well. And it was something I struggled with for many years.

"It was also the beginning of the ACC [Accident Compensation Corporation] days and their philosophy was that if you are fit enough to get up and walk around, you are fit enough to go back to work."

Redfern went back to his old job working in the dairy factory in 1977, but he was in a lot of pain.

During the same time, Redfern enrolled at Massey University in Palmerston North to gain a formal qualification as a dairy factory technologist.

But the physical nature of the job took its toll. He left the dairy factory and got work at a restaurant. He lasted 18 months, with his specialist advising him to find a job what didn't require standing for long hours.

He started taking an interest in woodwork and did a lot of woodturning in the workshop his father left him before he died.

"I started working at joinery and I was given the job of making coffins. That became part of what I was doing for a long time. I loved making coffins. I worked there for 18 months and the owner of the joinery thought it was necessary to downsize, and I was surplus to their requirement."

From there, he went on to work in another joinery factory, but difficulties with his body stood in the way.

Redfern was running his own business of woodturning and making wooden furniture in 1987 when his hip started acting up badly and went for another surgery, 11 years after the motorbike crash.

AA driving instructor Neville Redfern said he has to teach his students not only driving skills, but also warn them about the dangers of Northland roads.

After that, Redfern tried working different jobs, but each time his injuries would make it difficult.

Redfern was again running his own business in 2013 when he got addicted to some of the pain relief drugs he was taking.

"When I sold my business, I had to have my hip replacement and it still came under the old original crash years ago. I was still receiving ACC, and they asked me to go back to work.

"But which work was I supposed to go to? I could not go back to the dairy factory as things had changed drastically in the industry and my knowledge from 30 years ago was irrelevant now, I could not go back to working in a restaurant or running my own business because of my injuries.

"They were willing to give me one last chance and said they would habilitate me to a profession of my choice. I had just taught my son how to drive and I really enjoyed it. They paid for me to become a qualified trained driving instructor.

"From working as a driving instructor, I found out that I really have to be better at my job for young people to be better at driving."

Redfern began giving defensive driving lessons under AA and said it gave him a chance to speak to at least 20 young adults at a time, sharing his life experiences with them.

"While they are in the class, I can give the evidence why they need to change and possibly save a life."

Redfern continues to work as a driving instructor to this day, training the new drivers to drive sensibly.