A HARD-hitting road safety play is to be performed in 10 Worcestershire schools and colleges.

The play is part of a new innovative pre-driver education programme being launched by road safety professionals.

New Wheels is a theatre production delivered by professional actors and will be seen by about 1,500 15 to 18-yearolds in the county, including Worcester College of Technology and Stourport High School on Thursday, December 10, and The Chase High School in Malvern the following day.

The play tells the story of two brothers who are involved in a horrific car crash following a night out.

The crash in the play is caused by drugs and dangerous driving.

The play demonstrates the consequences of dangerous driving behaviour which results in one person dead, one person in a wheelchair and another serving a 10-year prison sentence. The aim is to make the audience think about their actions behind the wheel and the possible outcomes of taking risks.

The pre-driver education programme is being rolled out across the county by Worcestershire County Council, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, West Mercia Police and the Safer Roads Partnership in West Mercia.

The play will initially be performed as part of the new scheme aimed at promoting safe driver behaviour among young people. The intention is for the programme to be rolled out to further schools and colleges in the county during 2010.

John Taylor, road safety officer at Worcestershire County Council, said: “The play is very hard-hitting and the messages it contains will be reinforced by other activities for the students including interactive workshops and practical driving sessions.

We plan to reach about 1,500 students in the first phase of the pre-driver education programme. The programme will then be extended to reach further schools next year.”

Gill Pinder, education manager at Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, added: “Young drivers, those aged between 17 and 24 years of age, are a highly vulnerable road user group. The aim of this education programme is to deliver important messages to those just on the verge of becoming drivers and to encourage them to think about the potentially far reaching and serious consequences of their actions behind the wheel, both to themselves and also to other people.”

According to West Mercia Police, about 35 per cent of all collisions in the area involve young people.