Anthony and Valerie Shepherd, from South Shields, were at the premier of the teenagers' advert at the Baltic Centre, in Gateshead, this week.

The couple – left devastated when their son, Anthony, was killed by a drunk and drugged driver, in October 2006 – had gone to the event to support the campaign's message.

Already Dead aims to stop drivers from engaging in risky behaviour such as speeding, using a mobile phone while driving and not wearing a seatbelt.

The idea for the advert was put forward by Daniel Richardson, 17, Grant Parlour, 19, Georgia Hawkesfield, 17, Shauni Wilson, 17, Chelsie James, 17 and Abigail McCutcheon, 17.

It was then developed for TV by Corona Films, and for radio with the help of Metro FM.

Mr Shepherd said: "People do need to think before they get behind the wheel of a car, because if you kill someone, it's not just that person, but the whole family.

"What the students have done is good, and if one person takes note of this advert, that could potentially be a life saved."

Jeremy Forsberg, from the Road Respect campaign, added: "This has been a great project to work on and I'm thrilled with the result.

"It is vital to get young people more involved in an issue which directly affects them, often more than they realise.

"Their ideas have been top-notch and they really engaged in the issue.

"In all honesty, road safety is not one of the more glamourous topics for young people, but they really took the messages on board, and we've got a campaign which goes to the heart of the issues surrounding young drivers – distractions, lack of awareness and, sometimes, showing off."

The group was chosen after Road Respect launched a project with schools to get more young people involved in delivering the message about road safety.

After coming up with the advert and campaign idea, the students will now have a part to play in marketing it.

Ben Moore, media tutor at South Tyneside College, said: "We've really enjoyed the project and our students have benefited enormously from the collaboration.

"Both the opportunity to develop a campaign, make a TV advert – and do it all for an important purpose – made this a unique experience.

"I feel they responded positively to the professional, straightforward and challenging approach of the Road Respect campaign, Corona Films and Metro Radio."