RoSPA - Fresh Advice For The Family And Friends Of Learner Drivers As Family Safety Week Reaches Mid-Way Point
26 Mar 2014 11:47 AM
The Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents has launched a new version of its special website for
parents and others who help learner drivers with private
practice.
Marking the half-way point in its
first-ever Family Safety
Week, RoSPA is focusing on learner drivers as it seeks to raise
awareness of safety issues affecting young people. It is urging the parents of
learner drivers to make a
pledge to find out
how they can better help their children during the learning
period.
The website - www.helpingldrivers.com - gives advice about how to supervise private practice
sessions, with tips for what to do before, during and after drives. It has been
completely refreshed for the first time since its launch in 2006, thanks to
funding from the Department for
Transport.
Learner drivers have few accidents
because they are always under supervision. But, once they pass their test, and
can drive unsupervised, their chances of crashing increase dramatically,
especially in their first year of driving. Figures from the insurance industry
show that young male drivers aged 17-20 are nearly 10 times more likely to be
injured on the roads than more experienced drivers. They are also twice as
likely to make an insurance claim than other drivers and, on average, their
claims cost three times more.
RoSPA believes that the best way
to learn to drive is to take professional lessons with an Approved Driving
Instructor (ADI) and to complement these with private practice supervised by a
family member or friend. This helps the learner to practise what they are being
taught by their professional instructor in a wider range of driving
situations.
Kevin Clinton,
RoSPA’s head of road
safety, said: “New
drivers are more likely to be involved in high speed crashes, crashes caused by
losing control of the vehicle, crashes in the dark and crashes when overtaking
and negotiating bends. However, research shows that the more driving experience
learners obtain, in a wide range of driving situations, the safer they are
likely to be when they start to drive on their own.
“The family and friends of
learner drivers can help them to become safer by offering to take them out for
private practice. It’s really useful if private practice can be
co-ordinated with professional lessons, so we encourage supervisors to talk to
the driving instructor to find out when to start and what to cover in the
sessions.”
Among the subjects covered on the
website are the legal and insurance requirements for learning to drive and
being a supervising driver, route planning, how to conduct practice drives and
give feedback, advice on choosing an ADI, overviews of the theory and practical
driving tests and information about what to do after the driving test,
including buying a first car, arranging insurance and seeking further training,
for example through the RoSPA Advanced
Drivers and Riders network. There is an equally comprehensive section of
the website related to learner motorcyclists, again covering the law and
licensing requirements, how to conduct private practice, the theory and
practical riding tests and post-test advice.
RoSPA’s Family Safety Week
is running from March 24-28. With accidents killing about 14,000 people each
year across the UK and being the principal cause of premature, preventable
death for most of our lives, RoSPA wanted to help families find out about some
of the common causes of accidents and the simple steps that can be taken to
prevent them.
All ages and stages of life are
covered, with the other themes being under-5s’ safety in the home,
helping children learn to swim, becoming safer drivers at work and preventing
falls.
RoSPA hopes as many people as
possible will get
involved during
Family Safety Week, by taking part in its onlineNational Accident Survey, making a pledge or sharing
safety advice with friends, family and colleagues via social media, as well as
by downloading a
Twibbon to show
support on Twitter or Facebook.
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