OFF TO AN EARLY START
The earlier you start, the better. And when it comes to passing your driving test, it could not be more true, according to specialists at Young Driver, who help the under-17s get important tuition before they are legally allowed on the road, even with L-plates.
As Road Safety Week kicks off from Monday, new research by Young Driver reveals pre-17 tuition led to a 58 per cent reduction in the number of professional driving lessons needed at 17. It also reduced the accident rate for new drivers from one in five to fewer than one in 25.
experts say the average learner at 17 needs 45 driving lessons to pass their test — and with the average cost for an hour-long onthe-road lesson about £35, that works out at more than £1,500, .
But three-quarters (74 per cent) of driving instructors questioned said that pupils who had taken a Young Driver course needed fewer on the road lessons to be safe and skilled enough to pass.
A poll of 650 past pupils revealed they took, on average, only 19 professional lessons at 17 before they passed, compared to the national average of 45.
A case in point is the aptly named Mini Willson, 18, daughter of TV consumer champion and former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson, who started Young Driver lessons at 11.
Mini said: ‘I just loved driving, so would ask for lessons for Christmas and my birthday most years. When I was 17 I did my theory test and had my first lesson on the road.
‘My instructor was amazed because I could already drive. When I showed him my Drive Diary, he couldn’t believe what I’d already learned.’
On average 20 per cent of newly qualified drivers in the UK have an accident in the first six months after passing their test. But for former Young Driver pupils that figure dropped to less than 4 per cent, it said.
Pupils from ten to 17 learn in a dual-controlled Vauxhall Corsa, or similar vehicle, with a fully qualified instructor, on private property using specially created road systems.
Visit youngdriver.com or call 0333 577 9010.