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Safe Drive Stay Alive - Thames Valley

Tuesday 10 November 2009, 3:20pm

A fresh version of the Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign is to be shown to thousands of students and young drivers across Thames Valley.

Now in its fourth year, the pioneering theatre event will be shown to 16-18 year olds in the region to raise awareness of the risks of driving. However, it will be the first viewing of a new film produced by and starring students from Reading University.

The film shows a group of young people on a night out whose car is involved in a collision and explores the circumstances that can lead to a crash and the consequences that follow.

Members of the emergency services will step onto the stage at specific times in the film to talk about their real-life experiences and what action they would take if the production was a real-life experience.

Each week, more than two people die and around 180 are injured in collisions on Thames Valley roads.

Speaking at this year’s events will be a father whose 17-year-old daughter was killed in a road collision in Aylesbury in 2006. He will be joined by a couple whose 19-year-old son was killed four years ago in a collision in Reading; and a couple whose 22-year-old son was killed in a crash near Thame in 2004.

They will be joined by a young woman who was left with permanent scars and life-changing injuries after a crash last year. There will also be a video testimony from an offender in prison.

Safe Drive Stay Alive events – November

There will be events at 10.30am and 1.00pm each day.

  • Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 - King’s Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford.
  • Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 – Milton Keynes Dons Stadium, Milton Keynes.
  • Monday 23, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 – The Madjeski Stadium, Reading.
  • Thursday 26 and Friday 27 – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe.

Superintendent Rob Povey, head of Roads Policing for Thames Valley Police, said: “Road death is the biggest killer of young people in the UK. The campaign is about trying to make young people aware of the risks they face on the road.

“The event shows the impact a crash has on not only the people directly involved, but the friends, family and also the emergency services that deal with them.”

Students will also be able to share their thoughts and experiences of the event with organisers and each other through the Safe Drive Stay Alive Facebook and Twitter pages.

Safe Drive Stay Alive is run by Thames Valley Police, three fire and rescue services, South Central Ambulance NHS Trust, hospital accident and emergency staff, road safety officers from councils across the region, and the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership.

The campaign has benefited from significant investment by our supporters: the British School of Motoring (BSM), the Highways Agency, and a number of radio stations – Heart FM in Reading, Oxford and Milton Keynes, and Time 106.6 FM.

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