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..... is to become the leading provider of information and advice to Schools and Colleges throughout the UK who's intention is to deliver a Driver Education/Training programme from within their own Citizenship, PSHE or Sixth Form (extension studies) curriculum.

The classroom provides a safe environment where Students can be taught effectively the fundamental skills, disciplines and attitudes essential to the proper development of a competent driver. Schools and Colleges must ensure that this important life skill, often excluded in its entirety, is covered as comprehensively as possible in the classroom, thus encouraging their students to take an interest in driving responsibly and creating safer drivers, ready and prepared for today's roads.

An interesting point to make here is that in all schools it's compulsory to teach about STD's in PSHE, but far more youngsters die in car crashes on a weekly basis than will every die from a sexually transmitted disease!

Of course PSHE and Citizenship are important subjects, but as 99.9% of 17 year olds are learning to drive shouldn't every school  include Driver Education as part of their curriculum? Nothing can be more stressful to parents, and schools, than to lose a child at such an early age, especially as it has been proven that 98% of accidents are avoidable.

We need to educate students and make them aware of the many dangers of car ownership before they get behind the wheel of a car. The SPEED initiative will influence the way they think and behave on the road and give students the best start to their driving career, and ultimately a longer life.

For most young people being able to drive and having access to a motor vehicle has become a 'rite' associated with adulthood. They consider it vital for their leisure and social activities, for employment and their personal status.

Unfortunately, accidents amongst young people are significant, with those aged between 17 - 25 representing only 7% of licence holders, but contributing to 13% of injury accidents.

Even after passing their test, young and newly qualified drivers have a poor safety record compared with older, more experienced drivers. If we recognise that, for the young adult, being mobile is such an important right, then we must find a way of instilling the correct sense of responsibility to ownership and use.

With 10 people being killed and 110 seriously injured every day on our roads in Britain, we need to effect long term change in young drivers attitudes by placing a greater emphasis on classroom education.

This has already been proven to be the most effective way to educate today's learner and novice drivers for their future safety.

The basic practical skills of the new driver are undoubtedly good. Improvements to the practical test have meant that learners have had to achieve a much higher standard to pass. However, it is the problematic attitude of the young driver which gives the greatest cause for concern. The driving style they choose to adopt is often one that demonstrates a failure to understand the likelihood of being involved in an accident and the consequences it evokes.

In addition to their lack of experience they generally have a very poor perception of risk and often adopt 'risky behaviour' . These individuals often share common characteristics amongst their peers such as an affinity for speed and the propensity to condone traffic violations. In males especially, these unsafe attitudes are often present before they even begin to drive.

The classroom can therefore provide a safe environment to examine the various areas of knowledge, skill and especially attitude required to develop a competent driver. Training solely to pass the practical test is inadequate to prepare a driver for a lifetime's application of motoring skills. On its own, in-car training is too narrow, but with the introduction of classroom lessons a wider and more sophisticated understanding of driving skills and attitudes can be achieved, thus creating safer drivers, ready and prepared for today's roads.

•   74% of all accidental deaths of 16 - 20 year olds are in road crashes.

•   14 families a week are burying a child killed in a car crash.
   

•   No other single activity claims so many lives in this age group.
   

•   1 in 5 have an accident in their first year driving post test.
   

•   Where a young driver was to blame, 33% of accidents were due to loss of control (excessive SPEED!!)
   

•   On average, 1400 new drivers are loosing their licence every month under the New Drivers Act.

S.P.E.E.D. has been instrumental in developing classroom based Driver Education lessons for Schools and Colleges.

A pilot scheme has been running since September 1998 at Bruton School for Girls, an Independent School in Somerset.

S.P.E.E.D.'s founder is a top grade Driving Instructor with over 25 years experience of the Driver Training and Education industry.

He is also...

•  Member of the Driving Instructors Association (DIA).        

•  Member of the Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers (AIRSO).

•  Advisor/Consultant to the industries ROADSAFE board.

•  Head of Department of Driver Education at Bruton School for Girls.
   

The S.P.E.E.D programme has the backing of the following Road Safety Organisations: