Mates for life ...

A young driver in Bunbury is sharing her road safety message with the rest of WA after winning a Statewide billboard competition.

Year 12 Manea Senior College student Emma-Rose Tolmachoff beat nearly 60 entrants to have her road safety message, persuading young drivers not to drink and drive, appear on billboards around Bunbury and the metropolitan area.

She won the RAC’s competition which asked teenagers to focus on the negative impact peer pressure can have.

The 17-year-old, who recently got her licence, said as the eldest cousin in her family she hoped the billboard would encourage her 17 younger cousins to act responsibly on the road when they started driving.

"It was a good opportunity to promote not drink driving," she said.

Miss Tolmachoff’s mother Crisanne said she was proud of her daughter, aswas Manea Senior College principal Paul Mathews.

"It’s an awesome opportunity for Emma-Rose to get her name out there and it is nice that the college is also mentioned as well," he said.

He also said after the high number of fatalities on the Coalfields Highway, Miss Tolmachoff’s billboard should be placed on the road to encourage motorists to not drink and then drive.

RAC head of member advocacy Matt Brown, who helped to unveil the new billboard at the college on Thursday morning, said too many young people were dying on WA roads.

"We have to teach young people that speaking up when their friends are speeding, drink driving or risk taking behind the wheel could save the lives of everyone in that car," he said.

"Remaining silent can lead to tragedy."

He said there had been a number of recent high profile incidents where young people have tragically lost their lives on our roads.

"The roads are a dangerous place, especially for people who are new to driving," he said.

Miss Tolmachoff won $1000 and a $1000 Rebel Sport voucher for her school.