New Thames Valley campaign targets young drivers

Alex Pettyfer, who starred in the film Stormbreaker, helped launch a new campaign last week to make young drivers and passengers aware of the risks on the roads.

Safe Drive Stay Alive is a film and theatre event for 16-18 year olds. It explores the circumstances that can lead to a crash, and the consequences that follow. More than 10,000 young people across the Thames Valley saw the event during the course of last week.

The film shows four young people on a night out. The car crashes as they are on their way to a local club. It has been edited for each venue, so that 'local' roads and scenes familiar to the audience appear on the screen. As the events unfold and members of the emergency services arrive on scene, they literally step out onto the stage.

While the film is freeze-framed, the police officer, paramedic, fire and rescue officer or accident and emergency consultant talks about their real life experiences, the medical implications and how seeing such trauma affects them personally. This is followed by accounts from parents of a fatal road collision victim, a student who lost his friend in a collision and a person who was left paralysed.

The campaign is a partnership between Thames Valley Police, three fire and rescue services, the ambulance service, 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 substantial sponsorship from Reed, the recruitment specialists, DriveTech (UK), and radio stations across the Thames Valley are also lending their support.

For further information go to the campaign website, www.safedrive.org.uk .

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