Young Driver to run driving lessons for children aged nine and above at the Cascades car park in Portsmouth
Youngsters will be taught the basics of driving in a Portsmouth car park
Children as young as nine will be able to learn the basics of driving in a Portsmouth multistorey car park.
Young Driver is planning to set up lessons in a new venue - the top two floors of the Cascades car park. The sessions will teach children aged nine and older the basics of safe and responsible driving.
One in five drivers crash within six months of becoming qualified, and Young Driver’s aim is to reduce that number after teenagers gain their licence. For past pupils of the Young Driver scheme, the number of accidents dropped to fewer than four per cent; the program helping cut crash rates by over 80 per cent.
The driving training will launch a new venue at Portsmouth’s Cascades Shopping Centre and will aim to introduce good driving habits for teens before they get their provisional licence. Children aged nine to 17 will be taught safe and responsible driving in dual-controlled cars, under the supervision of fully qualified instructors.
By using the top two floors of the car park at the shopping centre, youngsters will be able to work on a range of driving skills and manoeuvres. Sunday, August 30 marks the beginning of the lessons, and events will follow on selected weekend dates.
Young Driver has run more than 1.6 million lessons at over 70 venues since its was founded in 2009, making it the UK’s largest provider of driving lessons for people aged 17 and under.
The lessons involve replicating a driving scenario, with a use of traffic signs, roundabouts, junctions and more to create a realistic road system.
By giving the young people time to perfect more complex skills without the pressure of being on a public road, youngster’s ability and safety in their driving is enhanced and improved with use of fun, encouragement and replication of scenarios.
Managing director at Young Driver, Ian Mulingani, said: “We are very excited to be launching at Cascades in Portsmouth, our first venue in the city. With two floors of the multi-storey car park, we’ll be able to offer lots of different driving activities for young people, whether they’re a beginner or have already had a few lessons at another of our venues.
“Training drivers over a longer period of time allows youngsters to have a solid understanding of how to drive a car before they get anywhere near a real road. Research shows that creates a safer driver – and we believe it creates safer pedestrians and cyclists too. Pre-17 learners are 62 per cent more likely to pass their test first time than the national average as well. But the lessons are also lots of fun and they’re a great general confidence boost for teens and pre-teens, who take the responsibility very seriously. When they’re reverse parking at the end of the first lesson, it’s often a shock for parents!”
Driving tuition is also available for disabled young people, including automatic vehicles. Thirty or sixty-minute lessons must be booked in advance, and prices start from £47.99. To find out more see www.youngdriver.eu or call 0333 577 9010.