Young Drivers Offered Skills Courses With Emergency Services

YOUNG drivers, aged 17 to 22, from The Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire districts are being offered an exciting opportunity to attend a Drive 4 Life event to check out their driving skills free of charge with professional instructors from the emergency services, and to have a chance to win free Pass Plus driving courses.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse Community Safety Partnerships are organising the high profile, interactive event, in which young drivers will be invited to put their skills into practice with professional drivers who will provide feedback on how they handle the vehicle over a set course.
In the wake of government concerns about the high number of accidents among new drivers, the partners have decided to act to cut casualties in this age group with this innovative and powerful initiative, which will take place on Saturday, September 29.
Other activities will include a DVD on road safety choices and consequences, a demonstration of how a driver is extracted from a crashed vehicle, a visit to Oxfordshire County Council?s Road Safety trailer and the chance to view the council?s Trading Standards ?Kill U Car? ? adapted to show potentially lethal faults.

Free Pass Plus driving courses will be awarded to five of the young drivers who attend on the day.

Partners include South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils, Oxfordshire County Council, including Fire & Rescue, Trading Standards and Road Safety Services, South Central Ambulance Service, Thames Valley Police and key local agencies.

All drivers between the ages of 17 and 22, who live in the Vale of White Horse or South Oxfordshire and who passed their driving test between August 1, 2006 and August 1, 2007, can apply for a freeplace on the day.

To take part, drivers should visit: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk and follow the link to the Drive 4 Life webpage where they can download a form to email to the organisers. The closing date for entries is Monday, September 10, 2007.

The organisers will invite 100 young drivers to attend the Drive 4 Life event, when the venue, which is local, will be revealed. Each driver may bring one guest.

Funding for the day has been provided by the Community Safety Partnerships. Sainsbury?s is also contributing to the event.

Bob Swanton, Fire Risk Manager for South Oxfordshire says:”Newly qualified young drivers often haven?t had the chance to drive in difficult conditions or to deal with unexpected hazards, and the casualty rate for this age group is three times as high as for older, more experienced drivers. Far too many young people are being killed or seriously injured. This event will hopefully encourage the 17s to 22s to drive safely for life.”