This support started with a special concert in London in September, for which 200 pairs of tickets were given away free by Make Roads Safe organisers in a prize draw. The success of this event led to the band supporting the campaign throughout their UK tour.

The Make Roads Safe team will have a stand at every concert during the tour, which runs from September to December 2006. The relationship is developed further on the campaign’s website (www.makeroadssafe.org), where an online game, ‘Roadie Runner’, which is inspired by the band, encourages young people to learn about road safety in a fun and interactive way.

Dirty Pretty Things’ commitment to the campaign is motivated in part by a recent tragedy in which three teenage girls were killed when driving home from a concert at which the band performed. Two sisters, Claire and Jennifer Stoddart, and their friend, Carla Took, died in a car crash in July while driving home from the concert in Ipswich.

Phil Stoddart, the father of the two sisters killed in the crash, said; "I hope that the Make Roads Safe campaign will help other parents avoid the pain we have been going through as a result of the tragic loss of Claire and Jennifer".

Calling on fans to sign the Make Roads Safe online petition, Carl Barât, lead singer of Dirty Pretty Things, said: “It is unbelievable that around the world a child is killed every three minutes on the road, yet almost nothing is being done to prevent this. The recent deaths in Suffolk of Claire, Jennifer and Carla were so sad, such a waste of young lives, and this is happening to families every day. This is why Dirty Pretty Things are supporting the Make Roads Safe campaign.”

In high income countries road crashes remain a significant cause of death, and the biggest single killer of 16-24 year olds in the UK, Europe and the US. In the UK young drivers are most likely to crash at night, with friends in the car, for example when returning home from a gig or club.

Click here to visit the campaign website.