HUNDREDS of young road users will be urged to stay safe as East Sussex County Council marks National Road Safety Week.

With the theme ‘Look out for each other’, the annual event runs from Monday, November 17 to Sunday, November 23 and aims to promote better awareness of the devastation caused by road crashes.

In 2013, there were 1,295 crashes on the county’s roads resulting in 1792 casualties, 339 of whom were killed or seriously injured.

In a bid to promote better awareness, the county council’s Road Safety Team has organised events for children and young people.

Year 11 students will be invited to take part in theatre workshops to help them feel confident about speaking out if they feel unsafe while being driven by their friends.

These workshops will take place at schools across the county including St Richards Catholic College in Bexhill, Bishop Bell School in Eastbourne, Seaford Head School, Robertsbridge Community College and Willingdon Community School.

Safe Drive Stay Alive events will be held for pupils and students at Ringmer Community College and Sussex Downs College in Lewes.

These live stage shows include a reconstruction of a road traffic collision and real-life experiences from emergency services staff and families whose lives were changed by road accidents.

The county council will also be promoting Bikeability workshops to give children and young people the skills they need to cycle safely on the roads.

During the week Community Speedwatch will be in operation in the Rother area. Volunteers, trained by Sussex Police, will be monitoring the speed of vehicles travelling through the district.

Cllr Carl Maynard, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, said: “Road Safety Week is a great opportunity for the county council to join forces with other organisations and spread the message and keep more people safe on the county’s roads.”

Road Safety Week is the UK’s flagship road safety event, coordinated annually by the charity Brake, and now in its 18th year. Road Safety Week aims to raise awareness about the devastation of road crashes and casualties, and the part we can all play in making our roads and communities safer. It does this by encouraging grassroots involvement and promoting awareness-raising and educational messages. Each year it involves thousands of communities, schools, organisations and professionals across the UK running a wide range of road safety activities. www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk