An Honest Truth Approved Driving Instructor shows road safety messages to a pupil during a lesson
Warwickshire Police has recruited 65 Approved Driving Instructors to join them as ‘Honest Truth’ Driving Instructors funded by the Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner to help reduce the number of young people killed and seriously injured on Warwickshire’s roads.
It’s not too late however, if you are an Approved Driving Instructor in Warwickshire there are still a few free places left if you would like to join The Honest Truth’s innovative scheme.
As well as teaching a young person to drive, Approved Driving Instructors use The Honest Truth to also teach the essential life skills that new drivers need when first driving on their own, enabling new drivers to make the right decisions when it matters. By learning about ‘The Honest Truth’ new drivers are given the confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour by passengers and make the small changes necessary to stay safe.
In return, the Approved Driving Instructors receive one year’s membership subscription to The Honest Truth including access to The Honest Truth online training and a range of materials and videos. They are added to a list of Approved Driving Instructors on The Honest Truth website, can use the logo helping promote their business and receive a member sticker for their car.
There are benefits to younger drivers and we are asking people in Warwickshire to consider choosing one of The Honest Truth Approved Driving Instructors to teach a young person to drive.
Inspector Jem Mountford said “Warwickshire’s younger drivers are currently over represented in our road casualty statistics – four young people aged 17-25 were killed and 66 were seriously injured on Warwickshire’s roads in the year 2018. An additional 267 of Warwickshire’s 17-25 year old’s suffered slight injuries in road related incidents. This is something we want to change.“
We know from statistical evidence that the majority of new and young drivers who are killed or seriously injured, aren’t as a result of poor driving skills. In other words, the mirror-signal-manoeuvre technical skills taught by driving instructors and required to pass a driving test aren’t so much of an issue as the lack of decision-making skills and understanding of the dangers faced by new drivers. The Honest Truth project helps to make young drivers aware of the risks when they start to drive alone.
Approved Driving Instructors are in the unique position of reaching young drivers when they are in the learning state of mind and use just a few minutes per lesson to convey vital road safety education.
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said “We have provided the funding for 75 approved driving instructors to become The Honest Truth driving instructors in Warwickshire because we want young people to be safer on our roads. We’re not far off meeting that target, which is fantastic news, but I would really like to see the full 75 instructors signing up.
“This scheme is really important as it means we can get good road safety messages to every single one of the pupils the instructors take on, which will equate to a considerable percentage of all new learner drivers in Warwickshire.
“In turn we hope that the increased awareness of road safety among new drivers will begin to make a noticeable difference, keeping our roads safer for everyone.”
Annette Lloyd, Head of The Honest Truth said, ‘There are still a few places left for driving instructors across Warwickshire to get involved in the project. The road safety guidance we provide is simple to use and easy to deliver to their students. But, it could have an incredible impact long term on the safety of those young drivers.”
If you are interested in becoming an Honest Truth Approved Driving Instructor in Warwickshire please email info@thehonesttruth.co.uk
To find your nearest Honest Truth Approved Driving Instructor please look at the map here https://thehonesttruth.co.uk/pages/advanced-driving-instructors
