Should she pay the extra, take the train and spend the whole journey wondering what the point of working so hard to get the licence in the first place was? Or should she take the risk and drive?

It would be difficult to advise her to drive.

• 20% of drivers are involved in a crash in their first six months on the road (5)
• an 18-year-old driver is more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash as a 48 year-old (6)
• two young people under 25 die every day in crashes in Great Britain

Pass Plus

Pass Plus is a driver training programme set up by the DSA in 2004 in response to road accident statistics, which showed that newly qualified drivers where far more likely to cause and/or be involved in road accidents than their experienced counterparts. The statistics suggested that both inexperience and youth were major causative factors in road accidents and fatalities. Between 1999 and 2002 a Pass Plus test scheme targeting 17-20 year-olds was conducted in Fife. The results showed a huge 27.5% reduction in crashes attributable to new drivers and an even greater 36.7% reduction in injuries sustained by them in driving incidents.

How it works

The Pass Plus scheme is set up to deliver vital skills in key areas to newly qualified drivers:

• motorways
• wet-weather
• country roads
• at night
• in town
• dual carriageways

It works on a basis of six hours of tuition covering skills in the six areas listed. This usually takes the form of three two-hour, or two three-hour sessions. There is no test at the end but your instructor will advise you throughout and assess you on conclusion of each of the six modules.

Discounts On Insurance

Participating insurance companies will offer discounts to drivers with Pass Plus certificates. Check for participation and the value of any available discounts on premiums before committing to an insurer (Note: some insurance companies operate a maximum discount policy that limits the amount of discount available to a policy applicant. If you are eligible for a discount for any other reason, they may not make a further reduction in their quotation. Always apply for your quotation without Pass Plus and then get a new quote with it to assess the direct financial benefit from an insurer).

Motorway Lessons

If you have passed the driving test and don’t want to take the Pass Plus course, we – as do the DSA – strongly recommend that you consider a motorway lesson. Driving on UK motorways, while extremely useful, is also potentially very dangerous and not a skill assumed of a newly qualified driver. It remains an anomaly, then, that motorway driving cannot be practised until it is fully permitted. The ways, skills, customs, knacks, myths, dos and don’ts of motorway driving can usually be covered in a three hour session with plenty of time for practise. Your instructors aim will be to make sure you feel confident beginning your motorway-using life.

Prices

Pass Plus and motorway lessons cost £25/hour.