Glyn and Marie Koester with a picture of their daughter Jenny The parents of 14-year-old Jenny Koester, who died after being knocked down by a van just yards from her home, are today urging motorists to slow down and make Oxfordshire's roads safer.

Glyn and Marie Koester, from Kingston Lisle, near Wantage, said so many children were dying on the roads that they wanted to lend their support to National Road Safety Week which starts today.

Jenny, a pupil at Faringdon Community College, was killed after getting off the school bus on the A417 near Faringdon in January 2004.

Witnesses told how the driver of a blue Honda Civic "waved" the teenager into the path of oncoming traffic, despite not being able to see the road ahead clearly.

Jenny was hit and killed by an oncoming van. After the accident, the driver of the Honda sped off. The van driver was not charged.

Mr Koester, 40, a gardener, said: "The coroner said she died there, on the road, although she wasn't pronounced dead until we got to the hospital.

"From that moment, things became a living hell for us.

"Before Jenny died, I was one of those people who, when people asked how I was, would say: "Brilliant thanks."

"I had a job, a home, a great wife and two cracking kids -- life was great. But now I am always sad."

Mrs Koester, 41, a nursing auxiliary at Abingdon Hospital, said: "I feel cheated.

"Jenny took the chap's word the road was clear and crossed, but he didn't know what was coming up.

She added: "If that driver had not ushered her across, but had just carried on, she could still be alive today.

"We have lost our daughter forever. And still more and more children are dying -- I go cold whenever I hear of another."

The couple said they wanted to support the Brake campaign.

Mr Koester said: "The campaign isn't just about raising awareness amongst drivers, it's about raising everyone's awareness -- children, pedestrians and drivers. How many of us drive along unsure of what gear we are in? Oblivious to what is happening around us?

"We are hoping that even if just one person reads this -- takes more care, slows down when passing schools, and a child's life is saved -- we have done some good."

Mr and Mrs Koester were today launching National Road Safety Week 2005 at Faringdon Community College, in Fernham Road.

The campaign urges drivers across the region to slow down to 20mph when driving near schools and communities.

Malcolm Collis, safety manager in Thames Valley Police Roads Policing Department, said: "We are determined to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding through education and enforcement."