TEENAGERS were given a harsh lesson in road safety as part of a police drive to cut the number of young people killed on Oxfordshire’s roads.

About 200 students were at the launch of the annual Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign, which featured a hard-hitting 30-minute video and talks by parents of youngsters killed on the roads.

The film follows a group of young revellers on a night out whose car is involved in a collision. It includes real-life accounts from paramedics and fire crews who deal with the aftermath of fatal crashes.

Paul and Susan Friday, of Stone, near Thame, whose son Richard died in 2004, took to the stage during the event, held at The King’s Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford, yesterday and today, to issue a personal plea to youngsters.

Their 22-year-old son was a passenger in a car racing another vehicle at speeds of more than 100mph.

He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Mr Friday said: “We’ve spoken to more than 35,000 children in the past four years.

“If our story makes a difference to just one young person then it would be worth it.

“We are part of a club which we don’t want to be in and we are trying to tell the youngsters they have a choice not to join us.”

Mrs Friday added: “These teenagers here have choices even if they are not the ones behind the wheel.

“They can put a seat belt on, tell the driver to slow down and not mess around in the back of a car.”

The campaign is aimed at teenagers aged 16 to 18.

Police figures show each week two people die and 180 are injured in collisions on Thames Valley roads.

Head of roads policing Supt Rob Povey, said: “The campaign is about trying to make young people aware of the risks they face on the road.”

Lewis Holifield, 17, said afterwards: “Everyone says it won’t happen to them but I now know it can – I think this has made a lot of people stop and think.”

And Jenny Lee, also 17, said: “I’ve learned how a death on the road affects families, friends, relatives and members of the emergency services.”

The safety campaign is also on Facebook and Twitter.