1 It is easy to scare the living daylights out of young people. You can offer testimonies of crash victims and bereaved friends and families. You can show them photographs of horrific and permanently disabling injuries. You can let them chat to motorway police or paramedics who have dealt with the human carnage wrought by high-speed collisions. All these can stun groups, at least for the duration of a training session. But there are limits to the value. Most will quickly blank it out and trust to luck that they'll be OK.
2It's better to encourage young people to become safer and more confident, by helping them take control, analyse hazards and reduce risk. Brake, the national road-safety charity, says a few lessons and a lucky test day do not make someone a good driver. Its research suggests young drivers may be overconfident and assess risks poorly. Brake is calling for a graduated licensing system to allow new drivers to build their driving skills and experience gradually.
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