Driver Awareness Workshop
How many of your sixth form students will become new drivers during this academic year? Did you know that one in four of them is likely to be involved in a car accident?
The sooner those future drivers and passengers can acquire the understanding, attributes and skills needed to make responsible decisions around driving, the greater chance they will have of avoiding death and injury on the roads.
Grounded in effective PSHE education best practice, 2020 Dreams have developed a hard-hitting but fun Driver Awareness Workshop, specifically designed for students in sixth form education.
Why We Urgently Need to Protect New drivers and Their Passengers
Student driver awareness education is not just an optional extra. It is a potentially life-saving intervention that could save students, their families and the wider community a lot of unnecessary heartache and loss.
Some of the shocking statistics that underline the need for action include:
- Nearly a quarter (23%) of new drivers are involved in an accident within six months of passing their driving test.
- Almost a third (29%) of students actively avoid or refuse to be a passenger with at least one of their driver peers due to concerns about their driving.
- Young drivers are more likely to be involved in a fatal collision or suffer serious injury in an accident than any other demographic.
Driving Home the Consequences
At the heart of driver awareness education is the raising of awareness of the consequences of making poor driver or passenger choices. Although showing students graphic images and relaying tragic stories can have an impact, this approach has been proven to be ineffective and even traumatic.
A more useful approach is to build rapport and engagement with young people and then to develop their understanding and skills through hands-on activities.
An effective driver awareness programme should cover a broad area of risk, including:
- Drink driving
- Drug driving
- Driving while using a smartphone
- Showing off and bravado
- Speeding (including car meets, boy/girl racers, etc.)
- Wearing seat belts and passenger safety
- Distractions and lack of focus at the wheel
The Roles of Passengers and Peers
Student passengers and the driver’s wider peer group have a pivotal role to play in managing risk. They must also make responsible choices in a variety of situations.
Driver awareness programmes must include those students who don’t currently drive, and even those who have no plans to take their test. Developing skills such as coming up with an exit strategy, speaking up on behalf of others and standing ground in the face of peer ridicule can all reduce risk and prevent tragedy.
2020 Dreams Driver Awareness Workshops
2020 Dreams Driver Awareness Workshops cover all of the above areas and more. Our skilled and experienced facilitators use a combination of hard-hitting presentations and carefully designed scenario-based role play exercises. This approach both informs students of the consequences of poor decision-making and helps them to develop their own skills and strategies for managing risk.
Our aim is for all students to leave our workshop as more mature drivers, passengers and friends.
Our workshop content will send a strong message to all new and prospective drivers without crossing the line into graphic material that could cause distress. Content will also link in to various areas of the government’s PSHE guidance, including:
- Managing personal safety
- Managing relationships
- Managing alcohol/drug use
- Risk management
We can provide workshops anywhere in the UK, and are happy to customise content to address the needs of a specific cultural demographic or focus area.
To book one of our Driver Awareness workshops, or to find out more information about them, please contact the 2020 Dreams team by telephone, at 0800 471 4983, or email, at hello@2020dreams.org.uk
