MORRIS MINORS!
Children as young as five taking driving lessons
C HILDREN as young as five are already learning to drive in Wales – and the initiative will soon be expanded across the country.
The scheme, which was launched last month in Newport and will soon be available for children in Cardiff, sees those aged five to 10 get behind the wheel of the world’s first specially developed miniature electric cars.
Called Young Driver, the initiative was introduced with the aim of encouraging youngsters to find out about the basics of driving and gaining a better understanding of cars.
It came after it was shown a lack of driving experience – not age – causes one in five newly qualified drivers to crash within six months of passing their test.
And having been started in October at Newport Stadium, the company running the scheme announced it will come to Cardiff’s St David’s car park, with lessons to start early next year.
Lessons last 20 minutes, which includes a five-minute briefing followed by 15 minutes of driving with practice manoeuvres, including bay and parallel parking, emergency stops and reversing round a corner, based on the child’s experience.
The areas are set up especially for the young drivers with a realistic mini driving zone to get behind the wheel of the vehicle, which has the model name Firefly.
Kim Stanton, head of Young Driver, said: “We are delighted to have officially launched Firefly, the first electric car aimed at five to 10-year-olds, and for Newport Stadium to be the first venue to try it out. We launched Young Driver at the stadium back in January for 10 to 17-year-olds so it’s great to also now have something for the younger age group.”
A spokesman added: “We are now really excited about it launching in Cardiff in the new year.”
According to Young Driver, the mini cars are powered by a state-ofthe-art electric drive train, featuring twin electric motors and work in forward and reverse modes. The cars have an “experienced” and “junior” mode, with the top speed restricted to 10mph for the former.
The safety system uses sensors to detect obstacles in time to bring the car to a halt when it is operating in the junior mode, which limits speeds to 5mph.
And, for additional safety, a remote control switch allows adults to stop the car from up to 120m away in case of an emergency.
The driver’s seat can be adjusted, allowing most youngsters aged from five to 10 to reach the pedals, while an adult of up to 6ft can also drive or be the passenger.
The cars also have hydraulic brakes and an electronic tablet-based dashboard.
The company, sponsored by Cardiff insurance company Admiral, currently provides driving lessons for 10 to 17-year-olds in the capital and Newport and it was revealed this week that initiative has given 5,000 lessons to children in Wales since it started in 2012.
Ms Stanton added: “Firefly has taken over a year to come together and involved the hard work of many talented and experienced people from the UK’s vibrant and successful automotive industry.
“We were surprised that nothing existed for this age range other than plastic toys and it felt like we had to take up the challenge and run with it.”
“We know that youngsters will enjoy driving it and that through this they will learn about road safety, finding out about the basics of driving, and gaining a better understanding of how it feels to be behind the wheel. That can only be of benefit when it comes to them being pedestrians, cyclists and future motorists out there on the roads.”
To find out more about either driving scheme visit www. youngdriver.eu