A driving school in Daventry has set up a special school to teach youngsters the basic skills of driving before they start taking lessons at 17. The scheme, which has the backing of the Northamptonshire Police, aims to give kids more road experience, as well as teaching them the basics of car maintenance so that they can not only feel more confident behind the wheel, but also ensure that the vehicle they’re driving is safe too.
Phoenix Engage has been set up by instructors Linda Ball and Bill Rhoades. “The idea is that we want to reduce the number of youngsters killed or seriously injured, what is known as KSI, statistics,” explained Linda. From basic car maintenance (such as checking for faulty lights) through to handling skills tested on a slalom course, the aim is to give young drivers a head-start when it comes to learning road craft skills.
Daventry District Council has supported the plan and is allowing Linda and her students to use a car park so that the youngsters can practice their skills off-road. But not only do the novice drivers acquire more road training, but they’ll also be awarded a BTEC qualification on completion, which could theoretically lower their insurance premiums when they finally do get out on the road.
Putting the case for ‘Early Doors’ training
There is considerable debate still going on as to whether training young drivers before they’re actually legally entitled to drive on the road is beneficial, or whether it creates a level of ‘false confidence’. However, there is more anecdotal evidence to suggest that this argument is outdated and that early training actually does benefit young drivers considerably, and could in effect lower the number of accidents involving young and novice drivers each year on our roads. Driving instructors have long believed that the earlier you start training (within reason), the more positive the response from the pupil, and the quicker they develop the skills needed to become good drivers.
The fact that this scheme also includes a recognised qualification at the end of the course could also be of benefit, especially if it reduces the cost of driving insurance. Instructors are watching the scheme with interest, and it may be that in the future we start to see this type of ‘Early Doors’ driver training becoming much more commonplace.