Safe Drive Stay Alive

Safe Drive Stay Alive is a theatre education project which helps young drivers and passengers to explore the circumstances that can lead to a crash and the consequences that follow.

It aims to reduce the number of casualties among young people by questioning their behaviour and attitude on the roads in an emotive and hard-hitting way.

This innovative road safety campaign is aimed at young people in Thames Valley, aged between 16 and 18, who may be new drivers or about to learn. Young drivers are much more likely to be involved in a crash – often due to driving inexperience and a lack of understanding of the risks.

Chief Inspector Gill Wootton, head of Roads Policing for Thames Valley Police, said: “Road death is the biggest killer of young people in the UK. For every tragic death, ten more young people suffer serious and often life-changing injuries. Each crash is a human tragedy from which families and friends never truly recover.

“Safe Drive Stay Alive highlights the choices that young people make that really are the difference between staying alive or becoming another tragedy.”

How does the production work?

The Safe Drive Stay Alive production includes a filmed scenario which shows a group of young people on a night out whose car is involved in a collision. As the on-screen drama unfolds, members of the emergency services that are featured in the film step out onto the stage.

The film is then paused while the emergency service worker talks to the audience about:

• Their real-life experiences of road collision scenes.
• What action they would take if the film collision was a real-life experience.
• The reactions of the driver and passengers.
• The medical implications.
• How the trauma of a road collision affects them personally.

The event concludes with moving testimonies from victims of real road traffic accidents.

A student from Chesham Park Community College, who attended last year's event, said: “It had a significant impact on all of my friends and came at the right time just as I was about to start my driving lessons. I always knew how to be alert but this just clarified everything that I was taught. I sympathise with those families that have lost their loved ones due to reckless drivers. Thank you for bringing something as vital as this project to our attention."

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, and local council road safety officers.

The campaign has benefited from significant investment by several sponsors and supporters, including: DriveTech (UK) plc, Serco Civil Government, The Highways Agency, RED National Driving School, and Thames Valley radio stations, particularly Fox FM, Horizon radio, 2-Ten FM, and Mix 107.

For more information, visit the Safe Drive Stay Alive website (opens new window).