Berkshire Motorwise is a road safety course for 15 – 17 year olds. Motorwise covers: 1. Road Safety covering speed, distractions, driver attitudes, drink/drug driving etc. 2. The legal requirements of putting a car on the road. 3. The regular vehicle safety checks and where and how to buy a “first car”. 4. The role of the emergency services at a traffic collision. 5. Emergency first aid. 6. Practical driving sessions with qualified driving instructors.

On average 9 people are killed on UK roads each day and three of those are aged 17 – 22. 17-20 year old male drivers are 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than 30-59 year old drivers. An average 315 people aged 17-19 are killed or injured on Berkshire’s roads each year. 1 in 7 drivers admit to taking drugs and driving.

We conduct written evaluations and exit interviews with our participants. Our overriding success is the change in attitude around wearing seatbelts. 64% of young people admit to not always wearing a seat belt. At the end of the course 96% say they will always wear a seat belt! A survey in 2008 found that only 14% of new drivers had an accident in the first year of driving (national average 33%)