Teens to take part in immersive road safety experience to save lives on the roads

An eye-opening educational programme is underway to immerse teenagers in the reality of driving dangerously or irresponsibly on the region’s roads.

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has contributed £1,000 towards the multi-agency initiative, led by the constabulary, which has seen a host of bluelight partners working collaboratively to deliver a series of interactive Road Traffic Collision (RTC) Activity Days at three high schools across the area.

The programme targets young people aged 15-18 and launched at Teesdale School and Sixth Form in Barnard Castle in late March.

Further events are scheduled in June and July at Barnard Castle School and Staindrop Academy in Darlington.

The sessions, designed for students close to or at the legal age of obtaining a provisional/full driving license, are up to three hours long and involve live demonstrations to provide an eye-opening sense of the real-life dangers and consequences of driving irresponsibly and dangerously.

The PCC, who placed Safer Roads as a key priority within her Police, Crime and Justice Plan and serves as the national joint lead for Roads Policing and Transport on behalf of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), has supported this initiative by funding a scrap vehicle for demonstration sessions and providing coach transport for school pupils.

It forms part of her ongoing commitment to funding Problem-Solving Orientated Policing (POP) plans across the force area which are designed to bring partners together with the force to proactively address issues that concern residents, undermine their confidence and increase their fear of crime.

Each of the activity days has been designed to reach up to 90 students with the programme overall purposely developed in response to a lack of immersive education around road safety for young drivers who are on the cusp of learning or passing their tests.

The overall aim is to reduce collisions involving young people and young adults, especially those resulting in fatal or serious injuries, with data revealing 12 young people have lost their lives on the roads in the last three years.   Nationally, drivers aged 17-24 represent just 6% of licence holders but are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions.

Previous events held in 2023 and 2025 have been well received and there are hopes the programme can be rolled out more widely in future.

Durham Constabulary’s session covers driving offences and the consequences of breaking the law, while North East Ambulance Service provides insight into the medical outcomes of collisions involving passengers and drivers who have not worn a seatbelt or have travelled with their feet up on the dashboard.

Traffic officers also discuss the equipment they carry to pursue dangerous drivers and test those suspected of having consumed drugs and alcohol and their personal experiences of being first on the scene at a collision.

Durham and Darlington Fire Service talks about its role in responding to collisions and provides a live casualty extraction from a vehicle while a rally driver presents the perspective of a professional driver, explaining the degree of training, safety preparation and skill required to drive competitively.

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “This project comes in addition to the Project Edward webinar sessions I jointly fund on road safety, which have already reached hundreds of young drivers across Durham.

“Road safety is serious. Every day, young lives are lost through inexperience, risky behaviour and taking chances.  It’s shocking that drivers aged 17-24 represent just 6% of licence holders but are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions. This highlights the need to present the graphic reality to ensure the message sticks – and this is where these hard-hitting activities days fit in.

“Most collisions are preventable and the workshops explore why. I hope the sessions leave a lasting imprint on young drivers and positively influence their future behaviour on the roads to keep our roads safe for all.”

The PCC has prioritised Safer Roads in her Police, Crime and Justice Plan, after residents identified road safety as one of their top concerns with drink and drug driving a concern for 80% of residents.

This work, part of an ambition to achieve ‘vision zero – ever day without a road death’, has seen her lobbying tirelessly for stricter legislation to protect the lives of young and inexperienced drivers including a phased approach to driver licensing known as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) which allows young drivers to build experience gradually and safely. The model, recently approved in Northern Ireland, has brought a 20-40% reduction in crashes involving young drivers in countries where the rules are already in place.  

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