the fight of a bereaved father, who raises awareness of the dangers of drugs while driving

He wanted to go to a small corner of Flanders, the only place where his pain subsides. Ten years ago, Ignace Cardinael lost his son in a road accident. “It’s unspeakable, it’s unspeakable. My boy was snatched away from me. My boy was somewhere a little bit unconfident, my right arm”, he confides. On July 15, 2012, François was traveling with a friend on a bicycle. A motorist hit him head-on. She had been drinking and smoking cannabis. She killed the father of three children, aged 2, 4 and 6.

Raising awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drugs while driving

Two to three times a week, Ignace Cardinael goes to the cemetery. Shortly after the funeral, he made a promise to his son: “That similar things do not happen in other families.” Prevention is now its driving force. He goes to schools in his area twice a week. He has already met 40,000 young people, whom he tries to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drugs while driving. In front of attentive students, sometimes upset and moved to tears, Ignace Cardinael modestly evokes his torn family, and his grieving grandchildren.