Warwickshire News Mine

The competition is being sponsored by Peugeot Motor Company Plc and will be an annual event for the next three years. It offers one lucky youngster the chance to win a top of the range fully insured Peugeot 1007 for a year by demonstrating they are a safe and skilled driver.

Last year 567 17-21 year old drivers were involved in road traffic collisions in which there was a death or injury on Coventry and Warwickshire’s roads.
And every year about 1,000 young lives are lost on UK roads. Warwickshire County and Coventry City Council’s have joined forces with Peugeot, the Institute of Advanced Motorists and ProDrive to help address these grisly statistics.

Entry forms for the competition will be available from today and young drivers will have until September 17 to get their entries in.

From here 60 drivers will be shortlisted and attend a driving day on September 30 where various skills will be tested, from parking to controlling a car on the skid pan. The day will also include a drive on public roads assessed by the Institute of Advanced Motorists and a driving theory test.

Following this day 12 drivers will be shortlisted for another day of challenges on October 14. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Coventry Transport Museum in Coventry on October 16.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “We are delighted to be supporting this competition; an initiative which will give the participating young drivers knowledge and skills that will help them stay safe throughout their driving careers.”

Cllr Kevin Foster, from Coventry City Council, became a member of the IAM when he was 19, and said: “This is an excellent example of a major company working with local groups to improve road safety. This will help get young drivers focused on road safety and may encourage more to look at going on to improve their driving skills by becoming advanced motorists themselves.”
Peugeot’s Managing Director Pierre Louis Colin said: “If this initiative prevents one accident or serious injury it will be worth our three year investment in younger drivers.”

Christopher Bullock, Chief Executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “This initiative is aimed squarely at younger drivers, who are most at risk when they first get behind the wheel. We congratulate the organisers and are pleased to be a part of the team.”

It is now possible to enter by completing and returning an entry form available at locations across the region including schools and colleges, libraries and pubs or by filling in a form online at http://www.coventry.gov.uk/youngdrivercompetition.  The entry form contains 3 multiple choice questions and a tiebreaker in which the entrants will need to convince the judges that they deserve to be the 2007 Coventry and Warwickshire Young Driver of the Year.

Link to WCC