[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ord’s free Driving Skills For Life (DSFL) programme is taking place at London’s ExCeL Exhibition Centre 18-20th November, ahead of National Road Safety Week.
In a statement announcing the plan on Thursday, Ford referred to a research indicating that worldwide, car crashes are the leading cause of death among young people, and that, in Europe, young people are almost twice as likely to be killed on roads compared with the average person.
The statement revealed: “We’ve teamed up again with leading safety organizations including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Brake and AA Drive Tech to deliver a free, hands-on, training programme that helps young drivers, aged 18-24 to gain experience behind the wheel in a safe and fun environment. The training sessions covers:
- Hazard recognition e.g. simulations of drink and drug consumption effects
- Vehicle handling
- Speed/space management
- Effect of distractions including taking ‘Selfies’ at the wheel- after a previous survey, commissioned by Ford in 2014, showed that then 1 in 4 young drivers had taken a “selfie” at the wheel.
Ford surveys have identified many university students drive while using their mobile phones, most break the speed limit, and a significant number also drink drive. Of those surveyed, 43 per cent admitted sending texts, 38 per cent swipe through apps, and 36 per cent take calls. Also, 60 per cent speed and 13 per cent drink drive***.
“University,” according to the statement, “can be a demanding time socially as well as academically and the survey revealed that many students were also tempted to take further risks when driving.”
Of those surveyed, 48 per cent said they would be tempted to drive a car overloaded with friends. 75 per cent would be tempted to drive after little or no sleep. While 28 per cent would be tempted to get into a car driven by someone they knew had been drinking.
Each day of the event, which holds next Friday, Saturday or Sunday shall have morning and afternoon sessions.
