A former police inspector has told of how he had tears streaming down his face as he had to tell a badly injured mum that her three -year-old son had been killed when a drunk driver crushed the car in which she and her son had been travelling.

Olly Tayler, who recently retired after 30 years on the Devon and Cornwall force, much of it spent in roads policing, also told of a woman's body being found in a ditch with her two dogs after she was mown down and left for dead by a businessman distracted by his phone while racing to make his train.

The heart-wrenching video is one of a series of hard-hitting promotional short films recorded for Road Safety Week, aimed at cutting the number of accidents caused by things like distractions, drink driving, speed and fatigue.

Olly said:

"People think ‘It'll never happen to me' – but it happens to so many people. That is the focus of this year's campaign.

"The message is simple. We all need to think about what we are doing behind the wheel before we even get into the vehicle.

"If we all take a moment to consider the consequences of our next action behind the wheel, we can reduce risk, not only to ourselves, but to all those who use the roads.

"Don't be the next story to be told."

The videos have been put together by PDT Fleet Training Solutions, part of the Pertemps Network Group, which has its headquarters in Meriden, West Midlands, to ensure the safety message hits home.

The Gloucester-based driver training business also produces monthly Driven By Excellence podcasts to support safer-driving messages.

New research from road safety charity Brake, released to coincide with the awareness week, revealed 303 people died in crashes caused by speeding in 2022, up 20 per cent since 2021, 92 per cent of people agree speed limits are essential, yet 34 per cent often break them, and 39 per cent think built-up areas should be 20mph zones.