At a time when the Government is reviewing driver education for new drivers, BSM has made available a DVD-based teaching program, which can be used as part of the school curriculum, free of charge to every secondary school in England, Scotland and Wales.
At a time when the Government is reviewing driver education for new drivers, BSM has made available a DVD-based teaching program, which can be used as part of the school curriculum, free of charge to every secondary school in England, Scotland and Wales.
BSM has a long established relationship with schools stretching back as far as 1959. In the last 12 years BSM's used two key resources, "Ignition" for the 14-17 year age range and ‘Signal' for 17-19 age range. Both have been well received by over 3000 schools and Ignition was awarded a Prince Michael of Kent road safety award in the mid 1990's.
BSM has produced a new DVD combining both Ignition and Signal, to enhance the quality of the teaching tool and increase the ease with which teachers can make use of it in their classrooms. Ignition and Signal can be used as part of the teaching curriculum in Citizenship, PSHE (personal, social and health education) and as part of enrichment programs.
Almost 3000 young drivers aged 17-24 were killed or seriously injured in accidents in 2005. 96% of BSM driving instructors believe that children should be taught more about road safety in secondary schools, so that they are aware of the risks and challenges of driving before they begin to learn to drive.
Mike Hutter, managing director of BSM, said: "Too many younger drivers are involved in fatal accidents each year on our roads. BSM believe that through better education from an early age, young adults will have a better appreciation of how risks develop and the consequences of not taking those risks seriously. BSM strives to educate as well as instruct our novice drivers to better prepare them for life on the road before and after they have passed their driving test. BSM continues to urge the Government to make driver education a more significant part of the National Curriculum in a move to radically reduce the number of deaths on our nation's roads".
Schools wanting to register the use of the resource need to email their contact details through to education.sector@bsm.co.uk and BSM will send through the required details to activate the resource.
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BSM/RAC Press office contacts:
Adam Cracknell on 01603 684 916/07800 699 517
Notes to editors:
About BSM
Founded in 1910, BSM is the UK's most experienced national driving school. Each year it teaches over 160,000 learners how to drive. It has approx 3,400 driving instructors across the UK. While BSM is best known for teaching learner drivers, it is also one of the largest providers of training for driving instructors. It is a founding member of ORDIT (Official Registry of Driving Instructor Training) and plays an active role in lobbying the Government on road safety and learner driver-related issues.
About RAC
With around seven million members, RAC is one of the UK's most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Whether it's roadside assistance, windscreen repair and replacement, learning to drive, vehicle inspections and checks, legal and financial services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information - RAC is able to meet motorists' needs. RAC incorporates BSM, RAC Auto Windscreens, RAC Direct Insurance and HPI.
Aviva bought RAC in May 2005. The acquisition brings together RAC's powerful brand and customer base with the expertise and leading position in motor insurance of Norwich Union Insurance (part of Aviva). Norwich Union is the UK's largest insurer, insuring one in seven motor vehicles and with a market share of around 15%. RAC's news releases and a selection of images are available from the internet press centre at www.racnews.co.uk.