A friend of two men killed in a horror smash in Dawesville has told how he almost got in the car with them but decided against it at the last second because they had been drinking.

Bradley Jessup, 29, and Scott Beinke, 46, had spent much of Thursday drinking with mates on a boat.

They then returned to Mr Beinke’s house, where they continued to drink until about 10pm before taking Mr Jessup’s heavily modified Subaru for a “spin”.

Ben Paull said that if he had climbed into the car with them, it would have been a triple fatality.

“I opened the car door and went to get in but before I could sit down, I just closed the door again and went and talked to Scott in the front,” Mr Paull said.

“I told them not to go ... I’m just thanking my lucky stars I didn’t.”

The car is believed to have been travelling at high speed when it veered off Estuary Road about 10.30pm and crashed into a tree. The men died instantly.

Camera Icon Bradley Jessup

Mr Jessup’s fiancee Nikki is four months pregnant and Mr Beinke was a father of three.

Mr Paull spoke to The Weekend West yesterday because he wanted to appeal to other drivers not to take their lives into their own hands this Christmas, or the lives of other innocent people.

“Just don’t be stupid because one stupid decision is all it takes,” he said.

Tragically, Mr Jessup’s partner had come to pick him up and drive him home just as the men were leaving the house in the Subaru.

She waited for about 30 minutes and when they did not return, she offered Mr Paull and another man a ride home.

Mr Paull said that as they were leaving Dawesville, they saw a police car race past them with its lights flashing but had no idea where it was going.

WA’s road toll stands at 185 — 24 more than last year.

Louise Clarke is someone who knows all too well what the devastating consequences a road death can mean for families left behind.

Ms Clarke’s only daughter Bronwyn died in September 2014 after she was thrown from a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when the rider lost control near Sorrento.

Camera Icon Louise Clarke's daughter Bronwyn was killed in a motorcycle crash in 2014.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the A Seat to Savour campaign, aimed at highlighting the long-lasting impact of road deaths, Ms Clarke said her family no longer celebrated Christmas as a result.

“We don’t do Christmas very well, we just basically try to live through it,” Ms Clarke said.

“I’m looking forward to the day it is over. I’m looking forward to Boxing Day.”

She said the day her “world was blown apart” had been etched in her mind for ever and that she would never fully recover from the loss.

“The stress, heartache, pain and suffering is endured by so many on an ongoing basis for years and years after the scene of an accident has been cleared away,” Ms Clarke said.

“It is a life sentence of sadness and heartache. The grief never leaves us. We just learn to live our lives around it. So many families are missing their loved ones this Christmas due to the tragedy of road trauma.”

The launch of the campaign included 185 empty chairs positioned around a 45m table at Elizabeth Quay. Each chair represented a person who would not spend Christmas with their family again because they were killed this year on a WA road.

RAC group chief executive Terry Agnew said people had become complacent with hearing about statistics and the idea was to show them a road fatality was so much more.

“Every time a life is lost or a serious injury occurs people are impacted — family, friends,” he said.

“Western Australia 20 years ago had the best road safety record in Australia. We are now close to the worst.

“If we were as good as the best, we would save 50 lives a year and this is about every one of us taking responsibility for the way we drive when we get in a vehicle. Too many lives have been lost this year and there will be too many empty seats at Christmas tables this year.

“We hope this display helps people see beyond the statistics and reminds people to think about their own family and friends and the impact road trauma has on the loved ones left behind.”