Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership – Young Driver Education Programme
The DDRSP is a partnership between Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service and Derbyshire Constabulary.
Its Young Driver Education Programme is aimed at increasing the safety of 16 to 20-year-old drivers by changing their attitudes to driving, positively affecting their driving behaviour.
The programme started in 2007 and involves delivering workshops through schools. Typically 1,600 students take part from 36 out of Derbyshire’s 45 secondary schools and colleges, with a record 2,350 students taking part in 2015.
Issues covered include speed, drink and drug driving, aggressive driving and distractions affecting driving. Because of their experiences, emergency service staff also talk about the after-effects of dealing with collisions.
Research has showed that in Derbyshire in 2007, before the initiative began, there were 635 reported injuries and 10 deaths among young drivers. By 2014 this had fallen to 331 injuries and one death.
Latest figures reported in the Derby and Derbyshire Annual Casualty Report published in October, also showed that the number of young car drivers – aged 17 to 25 – killed or seriously injured fell from 37 in 2014 to 24 in 2015.
And overall, in the area covered by the DDRSP – the county and Derby city roads - the total number of people injured in all age groups fell to a 40 year low of 2,997. The number of people killed was 25 in total, with 324 serious injuries reported, which was the second lowest for the same period.
