LARSOA CALLS FOR MORE FUNDING TO TRAIN YOUNG DRIVERS

More needs to be done to extend training for young drivers who are high risk motorists and can put their own lives and other road users and pedestrians' lives in jeopardy says the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association (LARSOA).

LARSOA would like the Government to follow the Scottish example and help pay for newly qualified young drivers to take a post-test driving course in an attempt to reduce fatalities on the roads.

In Scotland the government has announced plans to fund 90% of the cost of Pass Plus which gives newly qualified drivers extra training and covers areas they may not have much experience of such as driving on rural roads, night driving and driving in different weather conditions.

Initially the scheme will be limited to a six month pilot in Moray, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire which are the areas with the highest fatal accident rates involving car drivers aged 17-25.

David Frost, LARSOA spokesman, says: "Road safety messages need to be driven home hard to young drivers who have little concept of their own or other people's mortality. At the moment there is no minimum time that a learner needs to be on the roads before they can put in for their test. This means we have some very inexperienced drivers out there and mistakes behind the wheel can so easily be fatal."

Pass Plus has been designed by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and gives newly qualified drivers the chance to deal with a wide range of road and traffic situations they may not have had the opportunity to face before.

David explains: "It takes years to become a skilled driver but Pass Plus can give new drivers a chance to experience a range of different driving conditions under expert tuition. Drivers get the chance to face hazards and learn how to deal with them. Road Safety Officers spend a lot of time educating young people in schools and communities to change attitudes but that needs to be combined with experience on the roads."

Driving is expensive for young people and LARSOA believes help to pay for Pass Plus which in turn can lead to them saving money on car insurance with insurers offering cheaper premiums would be a big incentive.

ABOUT LARSOA

LARSOA is a national road safety organisation representing road safety officers (RSOs) employed in local government across the UK.

LARSOA represents 185 of the 200 eligible local authorities across the UK, assisting RSOs to fulfil their statutory role to reduce the number and severity of road casualties through education, training and publicity programmes.

LARSOA publishes an up-to-date round-up of road safety news from across the UK on its website www.larsoa.org.uk .

LARSOA also aims to influence national debate - government policy and action together with public opinion. The association works to achieve national recognition for road safety issues, commissions research into behaviour which contributes to road collisions and develops national road safety campaigns.

The association assists in identifying achievable national targets to reduce the number of collisions on the country's roads.