A fresh new version of the Reading pioneering Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign is set to be shown to thousands of students and young drivers across the Thames Valley.
This will be the fourth year the Reading Safe Drive Stay Alive theatre event will be shown to 16-18 year olds in the region to raise their 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 Reading 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 and talk about their real-life experiences and what action they would be taking if this was a real-life experience.
Speaking this year at the Reading 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, together with a couple whose 22-year-old son was killed in a crash near Thame in 2004.
They will all be joined by a young woman who was left with permanent scars and life changing injuries after a crash earlier this year. There will also be video testimony from an offender in prison.
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."
Reading 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 group and Twitter feed.
Cllr Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Member for Planning and Transport, said: "Each week more than two people die and around 180 are injured in collisions on the roads in the Thames Valley. Whilst there have been major reductions in casualties over recent years, we must still do everything to reduce further the numbers killed and injured on our roads."
The campaign 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 Time106.6 FM.
Jane Kelly from the Reading Highways Agency said: "The Highways Agency is supporting Safe Drive Stay Alive because driving, especially on motorways, is fast; leaving little or no room for error.
"Too often young and new drivers end up losing their life or have their lives changed forever in the blink of an eye. Safe Drive Stay Alive highlights the need to remain focused whilst driving. Working together we can all strive to reduce the level of killed or seriously injured young people on our roads."
There will be two events each day at 10.30am and 1pm. Events will take place at the Kings Centre, Oxford on 16 and 17 November, the MK Dons Stadium on 18 and 19 November, The Madjeski Stadium, Reading on 23, 24 and 25 November and the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe on 26 and 27 November.
Reading Borough Council
