A new road safety initiative is giving young people aged between 15 and 17 their first taste of life behind the wheel.

The pre-driver training course sees young people be able to drive a car in a safe, controlled environment with fully qualified instructors, to embed road safety principles before they are able to begin driving lessons.

The scheme, which is offered by Via East Midlands in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council, is one of a range of road safety education initiatives, which form a key part of how the County Council plan to reduce road traffic collision casualties across the local area. 

Drivers on the most recent course learnt about choosing a good driving instructor and the responsibilities that come with being a driver, alongside in-car training. 

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, Chairman of the Transport and Environment Committee, saw the course in action on 5 April, and said: "It was great to see young people have this opportunity to get behind the wheel of a car in a safe environment before they are able to begin learning to drive. 

"As you can imagine, the skills learnt on our pre-driver training course will stay with these new drivers as they go on to have driving lessons in the future. This early education on driving safely and responsibly is just one of the ways we can ensure these young people and other drivers stay safe on Nottinghamshire's roads. 

"Research shows that young people form their driving attitudes well before they actually take to the road themselves, so it's important that they receive the right message from the right people. 

"In the summer of 2021, we announced that we had successfully achieved our previous 10-year target to reduce preventable road traffic collisions which result in fatalities or serious injury by 40%, even surpassing this by 5%, but we will not stop there. Of course, the best result would (be) zero collisions and fatalities." 

"We also announced our plan to build on this success and reduce road traffic collisions which result in fatalities or serious injuries by another 40% over the next 10 years, and the pre-driver training course for young people is crucial to how we plan to do this. 

"If you have children aged between 15 and 17, I encourage you to keep an eye out for the next round of pre-driver training courses as they are an invaluable experience for young people."