‘Crucial crew’ experience encourages positive attitudes on Merseyside

Around 200 Y10/11 pupils participated in a successful event organised by Sefton Council’s travel awareness and safety team at Aintree Race Course in late October.

The event, named Megadrive, was a pre driver ‘crucial crew’ experience that has been successfully deployed in the past. Megadrive runs over a series of three-hour sessions and is intended to encourage socially responsible attitudes to vehicle use.

The project comprises a number of workstations, with students spending approximately 15 minutes at each post. On arrival students are put into groups and directed to one of the stations and then tour all the stations in order.

The stations include: The Pollution Solution (green transport choices); Testing Time (hazard perception test); Driver from L (the driving test); Consequences (what will happen if caught drunk/drug driving); Legal Eagle (documents required to take a vehicle on the road); Life Savers (what to do if first at the scene of a crash); Fit to Drive (testing reactions and eye sight); Driver Reviver (refreshment break); and Drive Time.

Drive Time, the undoubted highlight of the event, enabled the youngsters to drive a vehicle under the guidance of an Approved Driving Instructor.

"We are delighted to be able to offer this exciting initiative to local young people," said Steve Whitehouse, Sefton’s principal RSO. "Road traffic accidents are the principal cause of death, injury and disability among teenagers. We hope that participation in Megadrive might ensure that young people in Sefton are more aware of injury prevention and that they may learn about the responsibilities that come with driving."

Megadrive was funded by the Health Action Zone and resulted from a successful partnership between the local authority, police, merseytravel and local PCT's