Many websites for young people presume that they will learn to drive, as soon as possible. There’s no doubt that learning to drive is an aspiration of many young people, but cars are also a major killer of young people. The best advice is to delay, for safety and environmental reasons. Researchers into brain development have discovered that cognitive skills are not fully developed until over 20 years old, and if a young person is in full time education there is generally no need for them to have a car. For this list, therefore, we have tried to select websites that warn against the dangers of driving, and help young people make the right decisions when considering accepting a lift or thinking about learning to drive.
www.2young2die.info
For teenagers and young drivers and their educators. Includes video interviews with bereaved families, activities and discussion-starters. By Brake.
www.fmg.org.uk
Includes video adverts and focuses on the dangers of young male drivers killing their passenger girlfriends. By UK Local Authorities
www.nomoreliveswasted.com
Videos and info on how to keep safe on the roads as a young driver, featuring case studies of crashes
www.drugdriving.com
Dangers of drug driving, by the Department for Transport’s road safety Think! campaign
www.crashmagnets.com
by Road Safety Scotland, a site including films, games and activities on driver distraction, speed and drink and drug driving
The Press (a York newspaper)
Can give you a 13-minute free DVD warning of the dangers of joy riding using very graphic imagery of injuries
www.drugdrive.com
Showing the effects of different drugs
www.thinkseatbelts.com
Showing the effects of not wearing a seatbelt including an interactive crash simulator
www.aurorametro.com
Publishes ‘Coming Back’ by David Hill, which tells the story of a teenage driver involved in a crash (ISBN 0-9542330-0-X)
www.brag.org.uk
Bexley Road Safety Action Group (UK) site including downloadable video; posters for the ‘if only… one of us had said slow down’ campaign; and a ‘safer driving agreement’ to sign
www.cadd.org.uk
Charity giving advice about the dangers of drink driving
www.scard.org.uk
Charity warning about the dangers on roads
www.roadsafetyni.gov.uk
Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) resources on road safety for young people
www.dbda.co.uk
Commercial provider of play scripts about speed and drink driving by road safety company dbda
PRESENTATIONS TO YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF DRIVING
2young2die by Brake
Free workshops for 11-18 year olds on the dangers of driving by Brake volunteers, delivered at your premises and using hard hitting resources - you can also get trained by Brake to deliver these presentations yourself by attending one of our low-cost training courses
www.smartrisk.org.uk
Presentations for 11-18 year olds on risk, including presentations from a personal injury survivor
Also call your local authority, police or fire service to ask if they provide this service.
SITES ABOUT LEARNING TO DRIVE
www.ask-what-if.com
Hazard awareness for young drivers, by the Driving Standards Agency
www.getinlane.com
For novice drivers, covering speed, vehicle safety and learning to drive and including interactive games, by Road Safety Scotland
www.learnandlive.org.uk
Learn and Live is a charity promoting safe young drivers
MONITORING YOUNG DRIVERS
www.bowmonk.co.uk
Sells in-vehicle recorder for young drivers’ cars that records speeds and stores the information for parents to check
