Students in Ballymena have received a frank road safety message during the award-winning Roadsafe Roadshow.

Presented at St Louis Grammar School on Thursday, January 15 to around 700 students, the talk aims to alert young drivers to the risks they are exposed to when travelling in a vehicle.

The hard-hitting roadshow was devised by the PSNI’s Road Policing Unit and is supported by AXA Insurance and the Northern Ireland Road Safety Partnership.

Recognising that young people aged 25 and under are one of the age groups most at risk of being killed or seriously injured on our roads, the initiative aims to bring its message to those about to start out on what will, hopefully, be a long and safe motoring career.

The roadshow has been seen by tens of thousands of teenagers across all of Northern Ireland over the past few years. Photo: PSNI

placeholder image — The roadshow has been seen by tens of thousands of teenagers across all of Northern Ireland over the past few years. Photo: PSNI

The roadshow, which has been seen by tens of thousands of teenagers across all of Northern Ireland over the past few years, depicts graphically how an ordinary night out can end in tragedy or in some cases, a permanent disability.

The story is told by a police officer, a paramedic, a fire officer, an accident and emergency consultant, a young man who was jailed following a serious road traffic collision he was involved in, and a young person who was paralysed following a horrific collision.

A post on the Policed Mid and East Antrim Facebook page read: "[The students] heard first-hand accounts from emergency services colleagues and their experiences of road traffic collisions. Our hope is that this show helps young drivers to understand the consequences of bad driving decisions, which can be life changing.”