Learning to drive is something which holds a great place of excitement. However, with such excitement, there also comes great danger. Drivers which are aged 17-19 make up only 1.5% of UK licence holders, however, despite this, they are involved in 9% of all serious and fatal crashes in the UK.
Young drivers are much more likely to be involved in a serious crash on the road, this is most likely due to the inexperience and therefore the lack of knowledge which they have regarding the road and the risks and dangers which come with driving in general. Around 1 in 4 deaths on the road are said to involve individuals aged 17-24. This is reflected also through high insurance premiums that young drivers have to pay.
Such high and saddening figures bring us to the knowledge that a much greater awareness of accidents needs to be spread across the UK; especially accidents in which young people are involved in. This is the reason why the Safe Drive Stay Alive programme has been set out. Safe Drive Stay Alive is produced by a road safety partnership which includes Thames Valley, local councils and also emergency services. Each of these services have been working for a number of years in trying to successfully reduce the number of young people who are unfortunately dying on our roads.
Due to these circumstances, road policing, road safety education, engineering measures as well as speed enforcements have been placed out. Such actions led to see a fall in total road caulsties to 1,713 in 2013 in areas such as Thames Valley and Hampshire; this was the lowest figure since records first began dating back to 1926.
Our sixth form in Swakeleys have had the opportunity to receive an informative Safe Drive Stay Alive Hillingdon talk from individuals from the firebridge department, the police, the NHS and so on. Such a presentation has enabled students, including myself, to be much more knowledgeable regarding driving and the precautions which we must keep in order to ensure that we stay completely safe. It has been agreed that the talk was very much an eye opening experience.
Some were even brought to tears when they learned about the experience of grief and mourning which many parents had to face as their child had sadly died during a road accident. Upon interviewing a fellow student, she told me: ‘’Safe Drive Stay Alive was an intellectual experience which implemented elements of banter but also took on the serious role of showing us how driving recklessly can indeed result in unfortunate consequences. With the aid of real life stories shared by those who have gone through the pain and bereavement of lost ones to car accidents, we were not only able to empathise with them but also understand that driving is YOUR responsibility (the driver) and that the lives of passengers are in your hands.’’ Do not put yourself or others at risk.
Safe Drive, Stay Alive.
