Pupils get in gear for early driving lessons

FIFTEEN and 16-year-olds are getting a head-start behind the wheel with a new scheme combining classroom sessions with driving lessons.

The Young Drivers' Academy has been set up by an ex-traffic policeman and a driving instructor to give youngsters in the Lothians the chance to prepare as thoroughly as possible for their test before they are old enough to drive on the road.

Instructor Ian Malone has developed the course from a series of similar classes he taught at Linlithgow Academy and he thinks it is the first of its type in Scotland.

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He has had the backing of West Lothian Council to write to more than 4,000 pupils across the county and has been visiting schools to talk about the classes.

He and his colleague, former policeman Tom Meechan, are welcoming pupils from anywhere and eventually hope to offer the courses Scotland-wide.

Mr Malone, 50, said: "We're aiming that by the end of it, when they do get out on the road, they'll just have to work on their road sense. The purpose of our course is to improve attitudes on the road and reduce road casualties."

Classroom sessions will cover the potential dangers of driving carelessly, as well as preparing pupils for their practical sessions. Each driving lesson at the old race track at Ingliston will be followed by a classroom debrief.

The course is divided into three modules: the first covers starting, stopping and gear changing, the second is about hazards and the third reversing and manoeuvres.

Youngsters will also learn basic first aid from St John Ambulance volunteers and Mr Malone said he had been talking to police and fire services, who had expressed an interest in teaching some sessions on the course, which lasts 18 to 20 weeks.

The first ten pupils took their initial classroom session on Sunday at a hotel in Bathgate.

Mr Meechan, 37, who is now a driving instructor, said: "The earlier they start learning, the easier they can be influenced. Young drivers in general get stereotyped as being people that go flying about the place but older drivers do that as well. It's just about trying to educate them from a younger age. We don't want them to be a statistic and have to go and pick their bits of body up off the road.

"We wanted to put a structured programme into place to let parents see what they're going to benefit from and that it isn't just a case of letting people have a go in a car and letting them run riot."

Gordon Ford, West Lothian Council's director of education and cultural services, said: "We welcome any initiative which seeks to improve opportunities for teenagers to understand the challenges facing young drivers and hopefully reduce the number of fatalities among this age group.

"We agreed to support an earlier intervention from the Young Drivers' Academy, which builds on our highly successful Westdrive programme, which offers driving experiences to sixth-year pupils."