Thanks to a national road safety initiative, youngsters are taking driving more seriously – especially one particular pupil at Brookfield Community School and Language College, Southampton.
Daniel Oliver, aged 16, is the first winner of the Goodyear Driving Academy, a brand new scheme that aims to teach youngsters elements of The Highway Code before putting their knowledge to the test in an interactive driving experience.
With the shocking figure that one in five drivers is involved in a crash is in their first six months of driving [1], Goodyear felt that something needed to be done to help reduce this statistic.
Goodyear developed the Driving Academy, which saw children across the country aged 11 to 16 put on their L-plates and compete against each other to learn about better road safety. The competition also gave children the chance of winning a brand new car for when they pass their test.
Competition winner, Daniel, said: “To win the Goodyear competition is such an achievement and I am so very grateful.
“I never thought I would own my first car, let alone a brand new Fiat 500. The Driving Academy has taught me a lot, especially to take great care when it comes to driving particularly in severe weather conditions.
“I believe the Driving Academy should be compulsory in schools, it has not only helped me, but my friends too. My skills were put to the test and significantly improved my road safety knowledge.”
Goodyear Representative, Kate Rock said: “We listened to what teenagers wanted and the message was loud and clear. They no longer want to be burdened by high insurance costs and the reputation of being unruly drivers.
“The initiatives we have launched will continue in 2013 and will hopefully achieve just that, but more importantly make newly qualified young drivers better prepared to drive safely and responsibly having passed their driving test.
“We hope this year the Government takes note of the steps that we are are taking to educate young drivers and looks to teach such initiatives as part of the National Curriculum.”]
For further information visit www.goodyear.co.uk
[1] 2008 DSA, Learning to Drive: a consultation paper