Young drivers to get a steer

10 to 17-yr-olds offered training course

A TRAINING course for budding motorists will get into gear in Northern Ireland for the first time.

The first Young Driver event will be held next month at a site in Dunmurry, near South Belfast, where kids aged 10 to 17 will get the chance to drive a Vauxhall Corsa in a safe but realistic environment.

It’s launched as figures show a sharp rise in the number of drivers aged 16 to 24 here who were killed or seriously injured last year compared with 2015.

These figures also show one in five new motorists has an accident within six months of passing their test.

That drops to one in 10 for those who take a Young Driver course.

Spokeswoman Laura White said: “We are really excited to be launching in Northern Ireland for the first time.

“The whole ethos of Young Driver is about safety and responsibility – of course it’s great fun for a young teen to try this out for the first time, but we’re doing something much more important.

“It is vital to train drivers over a longer period of time and catching youngsters when their attitudes towards driving are still developing is key to producing a safer driver.”

The scheme has now given almost 500,000 lessons at at 50 venues in England, Scotland and Wales.

During the lessons dualcontrolled Vauxhall Corsas are used, which are an ideal car for learner drivers, and tuition is provided by qualified instructors.

For more information visit www.youngdriver.com or call 0844 371 9010.