Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Motoring news search

Search our archive of Motoring news.

		GO

Motoring news archive

Search our archive of Motoring
news by date.

2012

January
February
March
April
May

2011

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2010

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2009

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2008

September
October
November
December

RSS feed

You can subscribe to receive the latest motoring news from Admiral with RSS.

	Motoring news RSS feed

'Safety benefit' of parents in child's driving lessons

28/04/2010

Parents who sit in on children's driving lessons could have a beneficial effect on young drivers' safety, new research suggests.

The Staffordshire Young Driver Coaching Programme involved up to 20 families, with parents sitting in on their child's lessons with approved driving instructors, recording their progress and receiving a guide to help to support the formal learning.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which evaluated the Staffordshire County Council and Keel University study, said that while there were no long-term goals - such as reduced crash rates - by which to quantify its success, the research highlighted "the kind of good practice...that RoSPA hopes might enable those aims to be achieved".

According to the safety group, the resource pack was instrumental in cutting through "the age-old quarrels between learner drivers and the mums and dads who offer private practice", giving parents a better idea of their children's progress. It noted that another benefit was an updating of experienced drivers' knowledge of the Highway Code.

RoSPA is warning of the "urgent need" to improve protection for 17-24-year-old drivers, a group which is disproportionately likely to be involved in crashes featuring serious injuries or fatalities. In February, research based on Admiral car insurance policies found that the youngest drivers are twice as likely to crash as the average.

Lindsey Simkins, RoSPA's road safety research and evaluation officer admitted that there had been worries that professional instructors would eventually be "frozen out", but said that this had not been the case.

"It's vital that we all pull together to give society's most vulnerable road users advice that is consistent and relevant and that will stop them dying needlessly," she added.

There are now plans to extend the scheme to other authorities, and to provide further development for both learners and parents through workshops.

Helen Wells from the University of Keele said: "The scheme helps to ensure that young people are given up-to-date and accurate guidance, both in lessons and in private practice.

"It also provides something of a refresher course for some of the parents."

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, told Admiral News that parents should take an active part in their children's learning, exposing them to a wide range of traffic and road situations - including during peak times.

He added that most parents did not realise that instructors now follow a step-by-step curriculum.

"By sitting in, parents can reinforce what their son [or] daughter is doing with the instructor - rather than being out of sync or giving diametrically-opposed advice," Greig said.

Tweet