As well as working with pupils to pass at test Driving Instructors also take the role of promoting 'Safer Driving for Life' very seriously too.
My mission at WS Driving School is to go that extra mile to deliver no-nonsense, plain-talking road safety education to our pupils using the Honest Truth platform.
Where appropriate in each lesson we spend a few minutes discussing each of the 10 Honest Truth subjects. The Honest Truth campaign isn't about shocking or scaring new drivers; we want to empower them to make good decisions, even when faced with challenging situations. Each truth includes a real life story which helps the pupil relate.
Research shows that more crashes involving new drivers can be traced back to poor decision making and behavioural choices, than lack of skill.
After each of the Truths are delivered the pupils Honest Truth card is updated and when it is fully complete the pupil enter their information on the Honest truth website for the chance to win some great prizes. As well as this being an incentive for the learner, it also provides as a way of evaluating data on the success of the campaign in changing driver behaviour.
The leading causes of collisions involving young drivers are; speed, drink/drugs, seatbelts and distractions. These are addressed with short videos and discussion.
The 10 themes are as follows:
1. Insurance; 'their first premium will be big; the cost of fronting or driving without cover will be much greater'.
2. Tiredness; 'research shows that up to 20% of road traffic collisions are fatigue related'.
3. Sealtbelts; 'In a crash, someone not wearing a seatbelt is twice as likely to die as someone using one'.
4. Showing off; 'it might seem a good idea at the time, but trying to impress your mates can have massive consequences'.
5. Mobile phones; 'using a phone while driving is a huge distraction , and great increases the risk of crashing'.
6. Speeding; 'driving too fast for the conditions is a major cause of crashes'.
7. Drug driving; 'drug testing can be done at the roadside; the punishment is the same for drink driving'.
8. Drink driving; 'alcohol can affect you for a lot longer than you think - and so can the consequences of drink driving'.
9. Distractions; 'are the biggest cause of crashes. no wonder; when there are so many out there'.
10. Vunerable Road Users; 'How might you feel if you killed someone? Badly driven cars can be deadly weapons.
For more information on The Honest Truth please contact me here.