THE father of a teenager killed on the road was among speakers delivering a “hard hitting” safety message to 4,000 school pupils.

Oxford High School student Olivia Jefferies, who was known as Livi, died instantly when the car she was driving veered into the path of an oncoming vehicle in Adderbury, near Banbury, in 2011.

The 18-year-old’s father Steve Jefferies this week spoke in Oxford to sixth form pupils about the accident and how it devastated his family’s lives.

The 63-year-old talked to the teenagers as part of the emergency services Safe Drive Stay Alive production at the King’s Centre in Osney Mead, West Oxford, on Wednesday and yesterday.

The production, which was shown to about 4,000 pupils over the two days, also featured presentations from paramedics, police, and firefighters who deal with road accidents.

Mr Jefferies, from Twyford near Adderbury, said: “It tends to be the part of the talk which has the most impact because my part is the real story. I just felt I wanted to do something to save their families from going through what my family has gone through the over the last couple of years.”

He added: “All the services here do a fantastic job and they did a fantastic job for us as a family. I wanted to put something back and just show the children what can happen.”

Last year two drivers aged 24 or under were killed and 175 injured on the county’s roads.

In the same year one passenger was killed and 51 injured in road traffic collisions involving a car driven by someone in that age group.

Acting Police Sergeant Kelly Hobson, part of Thames Valley Police’s road death investigation team, said the show needed to be hard hitting to get the message across.

She said: “It needs to be a little hard hitting for them to appreciate how fragile life is and how dangerous cars and driving can be.”

The production has been running for seven years now and features a mocked-up film of a road crash.

Mandy Rigault, a road safety team leader in Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire Service, said: “It is important to educate young adults about road safety and being behind the wheel at the time when they are reaching the age when they can drive.

“The theatre production delivers important messages directly from people who have been involved in, and affected by, road accidents and I am sure that it will contribute to making Oxfordshire’s roads safer.

Mick Clarke, the fire service road safety manager, added: “The Safe Drive Stay Alive production is an excellent tool to help educate young people about the potential dangers of not paying attention to important road safety messages. “