SUMMER SLOWDOWN: 'A $20 cab fare would have saved my son's life' Luke Beyer with his mum Colleen. Luke, 17, was killed by a drunk driver in May 2011. COLLEEN Beyer, whose son was killed by a drunk driver in 2011, has thrown her support behind The Sunday Times and PerthNow Summer Slowdown road safety campaign, urging drivers not to speed. She's issued a specific plea to young drivers to plan ahead, adhere to speed limits and especially don't drink and drive. I urge everyone to support this campaign. The life you save could be your own. Not only that, but you will prevent another family like ours going through the heartache and despair which we face everyday of losing a loved one," Ms Beyer said this week. Road crash statistics reveal summer is often the most dangerous time on WA roads, with the state recording 48 deaths in the three months to February this year. So far this summer there have been three road fatalities. Ms Beyer's son Luke was killed by a drunk driver in May 2011. Luke was only 17. A brilliant soccer player for the Balcatta Soccer Club he had just started studying sports science at university and had a part-time job at the Ballajura IGA store. Tom Davies, a close friend of Luke Beyer's, pictured with Matt Beyer, is a founder of Enough is Enough WA at Luke's roadside monument. It was after leaving that IGA store on the night of May 27, 2011 that his life was cut short and his parents, family and friends' lives would change forever. That night, Luke had kindly agreed to pick up a few mates from the movies and drop them off home. As Luke sat in his Toyota Camry at the intersection of Illawarra Crescent and Sloop Rise in Ballajura with two of his mates in the car, another young driver slammed his Mazda utility into Luke's vehicle. That other young driver was Cory Nepia-Keelan. Nepia-Keelan was at the wheel of the white Mazda when it lost control and slammed into Luke's car, killing him and injuring his two mates. Nepia-Keelan, who was 22 at the time, also had a passenger with him. He didn't have a licence and later recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.107 - more than double the legal limit. Last year, he was jailed for four years over the crash. He could be released on parole as early as February. Two and a half years on and Colleen Beyer, her husband Martin and her other son Matt are still grieving. "The devastation and trauma of losing Luke that day is still as painful two and a half years on as it was then," Ms Beyer said. In ways it's worse because as the time goes by you realise that he's never coming home. Ms Beyer said special occasions like birthdays and Christmas were "marred with sadness." "As Christmas approaches I dread going to the shops," she said. I used to enjoy Christmas so much. I loved decorating the home and buying presents. I now find it really hard to put up our own tree as we used to do it all together. Every part of who we used to be has changed forever because of one stupid action of another .... I miss who I used to be and I miss Luke even more. Ms Beyer said her son would still be alive today had Nepia-Keelan and his passenger spent just $20 on a cab to get home that fateful night. "The devastation we face every day could have so easily been avoided if he (Nepia-Keelan) chose to catch a cab," she said. A $20 cab fare would have saved my sons life. Ms Beyer said young drivers in particular, because of their lack of experience on the roads, had to watch their speed and plan ahead if they went out with friends to avoid drink driving. "I know first-hand about the dangers of speeding especially when combined with alcohol," she said. It's so easy to lose control of your car, especially when you are young and inexperienced. Don't risk a few seconds of fun for a lifetime of regret. It's not worth risking your life or someone else's.