Pre-driving courses 'an excellent opportunity'

For 16-year-olds itching to get behind the wheel, pre-driving courses are a great way to introduce young road users to the joys and dangers of driving, it has been claimed.

Blackpool council is again running its pre-driver course complete with film presentations, group discussions on the effects of drugs and alcohol on driving and other safety issues.

Councillor Maxine Callow, cabinet member with responsibility for road safety, told This is Lancashire that taster sessions involving theory and practical elements were very important to make safer roads.

"It's essential that new drivers are given a good steer, both practically and theoretically, towards safer driving as early as possible in order to help prevent road accidents in the future," she added.

New gadgets such as a 'black box' type technology are being trialled so that speed and motion among young drivers can be recorded to help correct poor driving technique after they have obtained their licences.