Newbury and Thatcham Driving School

The New and Young Drivers Awareness Course is run by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service at Newbury Fire Station. It is a course that I have supported over the last 2 years and have continued to bring new pupils along on a 3 to 4 month basis.

Passing your theory and driving tests is relatively easy. However will you continue to be a safe driver once you have passed? I would never take a pupil to test unless I felt they were competant and safe enough to drive on the roads unaided. The New and Young Drivers Awareness Course can help pupils to remain safe. To be honest it I feel it should be a compulsary part of the driving test.

‘‘I was really shocked to see how easy it is to have a crash, it’s made me realise that you have to be very aware and extremely careful when driving." - Lottie Morton.

The course is organised by Newbury Fire Station’s Blue Watch crew. In an attempt to make our local roads safer, this course is aimed at all those currently learning to drive and those who have recently passed their test. The young drivers are shown a DVD showing the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving whilst tired, speeding and careless driving to name a few. The DVD is quite hard hitting and many of those who attended the course found it very poignant as it showed just how quickly a serious collision can occur particularly when drivers are distracted at the wheel. The evening also includes:

· Ways to lose your licence including the use of drugs and alcohol
· How quickly a collision can happen particularly when drivers are distracted
· Roles of the emergency services and the Golden Hour
· Dramatic real life demonstration
· Statistics on the number of accidents involving 17-24 year olds

"It makes you realise that it takes just 1 person to cause an accident, but over 200 to sort out the mess" - Sam Morgan

Take a look at an article of the first course we attended in November 2006 featured in Newbury Weekly News

Courses run on a 3 to4 month basis. If you wish to attend the next course, whether you choose to take lessons with me or not, please feel free to contact me.