YOUNG DRIVER

DRIVING DOWN THE AGE OF LESSONS

Do teenagers really need to wait until the age of 17 before learning to drive? At 'Young Driver', a company that gets 11-16 year-olds behind the wheel, they think not. Jonathan Crouch took his daughters to try it..

Got teenage children? Then you know that sooner or later, you've got to start thinking about driving lessons. But what if they could be better prepared for them? That's where the Young Driver training programme comes in.

Operating from locations country-wide, it enables 11-16 year-olds to learn the basics of driving in a safe, controlled environment on a specially constructed road course. As someone with two girls in that age group, I thought I'd give it a try.

Let's start with the basics. Young Driver operate at venues throughout the UK with details available on their website at www.youngdriver.eu. Lessons can be either 30 or 60 minutes and the instructor will adapt them if necessary to allow for the youngster's age and ability. Initially, students will be taught the basics of how to start and stop the vehicle, move away, change gear and steer. In later lessons they will encounter two-way traffic, junctions, turning, parking and reverse parking. At some venues, they will also experience the issues posed by roundabouts and traffic lights. All their students are given a 'Drive Diary' to record their progress.

Standard Young Driver lessons start from ju...