GoSkils: DFT plans for a safer driving future

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Thursday, 29, May 2008 12:00

GoSkills welcomes Kelly’s new initiative to improve driving skills

Plans unveiled by Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, to improve existing driver learning and testing systems and cultivate a culture of safer driving among younger road users in particular, have been welcomed by GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Passenger Transport Sector.

Central to the Transport Secretary’s plans is a consultation looking at how to reduce accidents involving younger drivers and understand why the casualty rate for this group has remained consistent despite UK road deaths having fallen by a third since 19951.

Ruth Kelly’s proposals also include a foundation course in safe road use for the under 17 year olds and will be piloted in schools and colleges in Scotland from this autumn. This will lead to a qualification that will be available across Great Britain.

Peter Huntington, GoSkills’ Chief Executive, is keen for new drivers to be prepared for the road more thoroughly. He said: “We are delighted that the consultation picks up on a key policy area which we (among others) have championed. Whilst legislation and enforcement have parts to play, so does education. We are pleased that the importance of pre-driver education in schools has been recognised and as we have already in Scotland, we shall play our part in ensuring that the new course proposal is implemented across the UK.

“We support the document’s overall aims which seek to create safer drivers for life by strengthening the current learning and testing procedures, and creating a culture of extended and advanced learning2. This is an important step towards having driving regarded as an important basic skill in schools.”

Also welcoming the Transport Secretary’s proposals, Vicki Ball, GoSkills’ Director of Workforce Development, said: “These proposals mean that for the first time there will be a syllabus available to learner drivers which will comprehensively set out the steps to be taken to drive more safely. This will help more learners to pass first time as responsible drivers and, most importantly, make driving safer for all road users as young drivers will have a greater appreciation of their own safety (whether as drivers or passengers) and the safety of others3.”

The main points of Ruth Kelly’s plans include:

- a driving test that gives a more realistic and rounded assessment of whether someone is fit to drive alone;

- more focused and efficient learning, with greater clarity about what is required, so learners should not face any increase in costs;

- better training and testing of driving instructors and better information for the public on instructors' qualifications and performance

- a wider range of opportunities for drivers to acquire skills and demonstrate that they have done so, both before and after they qualify, creating a culture of lifelong learning and driver development.

Safer and better newly-qualified drivers will see as a result:

- lower numbers of accidents;

- higher levels of learner satisfaction;

- more opportunities and greater incentives for post-test learning, with this becoming increasingly common;

- higher levels of employer confidence in the driving test and driving qualifications;

- lower insurance costs for drivers who have taken advantage of a wider range of learning options, both pre and post test, to improve their competence.

Ends

Press enquiries please contact:

Richard Tibenham – Communications Manager - 0121 635 5530, email: richard.tibenham@goskills.org

or Fraser Tennant – Communications Executive – 0121 635 5531, email: fraser.tennant@goskills.org

For further information visit www.goskills.org

Notes to Editors:

1. Road deaths and serious injuries have fallen by 33% since the mid 1990s, but the casualty rate for young drivers has not changed. One in five people have an accident within six months of passing their test, and another 70% report near- misses in the same period. Alongside this newly-qualified drivers and their passengers account for one in five of all car deaths in Britain.

2. As part of the 2006 GovNet Transport Conference, GoSkills hosted a special seminar – Young Drivers: Facing the Future – which discussed the challenges facing young drivers and how an increase in education and training could contribute towards making them safer drivers. A video of the seminar is viewable at: www.goskills.twofourdigital.net/events/youngdrivers.

3. As well as contributing to the road safety agenda, a road user qualification in schools helps the road passenger industries as it puts a greater focus on the skills required to drive and the career opportunities open to drivers.