MORE than 1,000 students will experience Safe Drive, Stay Alive when it comes to Salisbury next week.

Students from the Salisbury area see the hard-hitting road safety presentation next week.

On 3 and 4 October, the presentation will be seen by students from Godolphin School, Salisbury Sixth Form College, South Wiltshire Grammar School for Girls, Bishop Wordsworth’s School, Wiltshire College, Sarum Academy and Leehurst Swan, all in Salisbury; together with Trafalgar School, Downton; Focus School Wilton campus; Burgate School, Fordingbridge; and St Joseph’s, Laverstock.

Safe Drive, Stay Alive uses personal testimony and video footage to make the audience aware of the tragedy and suffering caused by road traffic collisions.

Firefighters, medics, police officers, bereaved parents and people who have been directly involved in road traffic collisions recount their stories, often in heart-breaking detail.

Safe Drive, Stay Alive is a Wiltshire and Swindon road safety initiative coordinated by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service on behalf of a partnership including Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council, Arval Ltd, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Severn Major Trauma Network.

Since its launch in 2006, the roadshow has been seen by thousands of students – and the organising team wants it to be essential viewing for every school in Swindon and Wiltshire.

Ian Hopkins, road safety manager at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, explained: “The presentation is hard hitting and upsetting, but we make no apology for that.

"The speakers are real people who have experienced the horror of road traffic collisions, whether as a member of the emergency services, as a victim or as a parent who has lost a child.

"It is this truthfulness that makes it so successful. We know that the young people who see this roadshow are affected, and we have seen the number of young people killed or seriously injured on our roads decrease since the programme started. We really do make a difference.”