A radical new way of learning to drive

7 July 2008

The award-winning Berkshire-based driver education specialist DriveTech (UK) plc is entering the learner driver market for the first time, with a product which it feels will be the blueprint for the future.

“Too many teenagers are killing themselves and other road users”, says DriveTech chairman Chris Howell. “Sadly most of it’s down to the inadequacy of the existing driving test curriculum. It simply doesn’t prepare young drivers for the reality of driving or take proper account of the way that they are hard-wired to think. Our course addresses all that…….and more”

With twenty years expertise in driver education behind it, the company is well placed to take novice driver training up a gear. It has some of the highest qualified driver trainers in the UK on its training team – all are DSA Grade 5 or 6 and have additional driving qualifications, as well as experience in corporate driver training for qualified, business drivers.

In addition to world class on-road practical tuition leading up to the test, the course includes a series of interactive classroom-based workshops which, using some cutting edge learning techniques, will get the youngsters thinking like experienced drivers twice their age. A crucial component of the workshops will be modules on dealing with peer pressure from passengers and all the inevitable distractions associated with driving a car full of young people.

Following the successful passing of the test the drivers then receive further practical training, on the correct use of motorways, night driving techniques and how to deal safely with the most dangerous scenario of all for young drivers, rural roads. The course ends with a multi activity driving event, where the successful graduates will be able to challenge family and friends in a variety of driving challenges, to demonstrate that they genuinely are a cut above the rest.

The DriveTech Advantage driving course is a fixed price package and costs £1000. Chris Howell again:”£1000 might sound a lot at first but the average total cost of hourly lessons just to pass the test is currently around this figure anyway and with Advantage you get the added bonus of the workshops and post test training too. We also guarantee to re-train candidates free of charge if they don’t pass first time. But that’s not all….we have a genuinely attractive insurance deal too and our graduates will have a City & Guilds qualification in driving, which will help them in their future careers.”

The DriveTech Advantage learner driver programme is rolling out in a modest way to begin with. In the early days trainers will be available in the following areas:

Maidenhead/Reading/Henley, Berks

Aylesbury/Wendover/Milton Keynes, Bucks

Crawley/Horley/Haywards Heath, Sussex

The company is happy to receive enquiries from prospective learner drivers outside these areas as recruitment of DriveTech Advantage trainers is ongoing and the growth of regional coverage is expected to be rapid. Those interested in learning with DriveTech Advantage should email advantage@drivetech.co.uk or call 0800 840 5106. Additional information about the product can be found on DriveTech’s new website by clicking on the Advantage icon at www.drivetech.co.uk

For further information, members of the media should contact
Steve Johnson on direct line +44 (0)1789 414700, mobile +44 (0)7894 621134 or on steve.johnson@drivetech.co.uk

Editor's Notes (topic specific)

• Drivers aged 17-21 comprise 7% of driving population but 13% are responsible for collisions (DfT 2005 Annual Report)
• One in three drivers who die in a collision is under 25 (DfT/Brake/Roadsafe Nov 2006)
• 27% of 17-19 year old males are involved in a road collision in their first year of driving (DfT/ABI)
• 18% of all new drivers are involved in at least one crash within one year of passing their test (TRL Cohort Studies 1992, 1995, 1997)
• Young drivers are 12 times more likely to be at fault in fatal collisions than those in the 35-65 year old bracket (DfT 2007, Govt. Road Safety Strategy Second Review)
• 38,800 serious incidents per annum involved drivers with less than two years experience. Of these 5,000 are KSI (DfT 2002, ‘A more structured approach to learning to drive’)
• 20% of 17-22 year olds killed were driving cars more than 13 years old (DfT 2007, Govt. Road Safety Strategy Second Review)
• In 2005 192 drivers aged between 17-20 were killed on UK roads. This represents 19.2 per 100,000 licences issued (DfT Fatality Rates 1992-2005)
• There is a 42.5% reduction in collision liability in the second year of a person’s driving career just as a result of experience alone (TRL Cohort II data, 2007)
• A minimum 12 month learning period for new drivers could prevent between 800 and 1,000 deaths per annum and some 6,000-7,000 casualties in all (DfT 2002, ‘A more structured approach to learning to drive’)
• Only 13% of all new drivers complete the Pass Plus scheme (DfT/DSA 2005/2006)
• Young drivers account for 45% of all road fatalities between 23.00 and 06.00 (‘**The Report, Norwich Union evidence)
• Young drivers are 10 times more likely to have a crash at night than an experienced driver (**‘The Report’, Norwich Union evidence)
• Young drivers are 56% more likely suffer a crash-related injury between 01.00 and 05.00 (**‘The Report, Norwich Union evidence)
• Young male drivers are now the biggest killer of young women in the UK (**‘The Report’, Evidence reference 72)
• 32% of novice drivers make insurance claims, compared to 16% of the total driving population (ABI Report on Young Drivers 2006)
• The average insurance premium for a novice male driver is £1,311 (ABI Report on Young Drivers 2006)
• Between June 2005 and May 2006 there were 14,988 driving licence revocations. 77% were males under 25 (DVLA 2007)
• Road crashes are the biggest killer of 15-24 year olds (DfT/Roadsafe 2006)
• 25% of convictions for death by dangerous driving are against under 21 year olds (DfT/Roadsafe 2006)

Other relevant facts

Editor's Notes (about DriveTech)

DriveTech (UK) plc is one of the UK’s leading providers of road risk management, driver assessment and education. We work both with organisations whose employees ‘drive for work’ and with members of the public, who are offered education as an alternative to prosecution by the police.

DriveTech’s vision is ‘working together to eliminate road death and serious injuries’ by providing the most effective and innovative solutions, using education and technology, to minimise risk for all road users.

DriveTech (UK) has won the Institute of Transport Management’s (ITM) ‘Fleet Award for Driver Training’ in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the ‘European Driver Safety Specialist’ award in 2005. In September 2007, it was named the ITM’s ‘UK Driver Training Solutions Specialist’ for making ‘the most significant impact upon the Driver Training and Safety sector over the past decade’

In 2007, DriveTech (UK) won the South England and South Wales regional award of the Bank of Scotland Corporate ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ of up to £5m, interest-free funding and was runner-up in the national Grand Finale. In addition, the company was named runner-up in the 2007 Thames Valley ‘Business of the Year’ award.