Campaign calls for Government action on young drivers

The Government should be doing more to help young drivers and cyclists stay safe, according to motoring safety charity DriveSafe.

The Birmingham-based charity, which has published a guide to safer driving based on research into driver behaviour, wants the Government to show greater leadership on road safety. It has given a cautious welcome to plans for local councils to be given more freedom in setting local speed limits, but is calling for better driver training and stronger road safety law enforcement.

The charity’s new 60-page handbook, ‘DriveSafe – An Essential Guide for Motorists’, has been published to celebrate the third anniversary of the charity’s ‘Courtesy on the Road’ campaign.

Fay Goodman, founder of DriveSafe, said: “The Government should take a lead in delivering significant and sustained improvements in road safety, especially in tackling the high casualty rate for young drivers.

“As an organisation that has been involved in extensive research into driver behaviour, DriveSafe has already approached the DfT to discuss ways in which it could support the Government in tackling road deaths among young people.

“DriveSafe welcomes plans to let councils set speeds because of their local knowledge and trusts they will be mindful that too many fluctuating limits could prove more dangerous – with motorists spending more time looking for speed limit signs than watching the road ahead.”

For more information contact Simon Hale on 07970 802494.