Learn 2 Live

Nick's Story

Police Officer RIch tells the real story of the impact that a road traffic collision can have.

Josh's Story

Accident and Emergency Consultant Gavin tells the real story of the impact that a road traffic collision can have.

James' Story

Police Sergeant Olly tells the real story of the impact that a road traffic collision can have.

The Honest Truth for learners

The Honest Truth is a national road safety campaign delivered through collaboration with the emergency services, road safety organisations and driving instructors across the UK.

Young people are at the highest risk on our roads. This is due to a combination of factors including inexperience, peer pressure, fatigue and risk taking. High risk of crashing affects learner drivers, new drivers and even the passengers of new young drivers. But the good thing is there are lots of positive steps you can take to keep yourself and others safe on the roads. Here are a few ideas:

Make a SAFE PLAN

One thing you can do no matter if you are a passenger in a car or a new or learner driver, is make a safe plan. A Safe Plan is simply about the things you can do now that will make you safer in the future. Here are some ideas of what to include in your safe plan:

Make sure you can get help when you need it…

Download the What3Words app on android or iphone so that you can tell the emergency services precisely where you are. This is also useful for everyday use to navigate to a particular location or meet up with friends.

Be prepared – plan your night out and how you will get home?

  • Always tell someone that you trust where you are going and when they can expect you back. There are lots of apps out there that you can use to share your location information in real time.

  • Carry emergency cash that you can use to get home safely - put £20 in the back of your wallet now so it is always there and can be used to pay for travel on a bus, train or taxi.

  • Find a couple of trustworthy local taxi firms and put their contact details in your phone.

  • Buy your designated driver soft drinks all night and help them to make it easier not to drink alcohol.

Have the courage to speak up:

  • Scared by your driver’s driving? tell them you are going to be sick and you need to get out - no one likes vomit in their car - they will listen! Know what you are going to say before you need to say it!

  • Rehearse what you would say if you were worried about someone driving in a way that made you feel unsafe? Watch how these young people deal with someone using their mobile phone when driving.

When you are the driver…

  • Don't be in a hurry to pass your test - research suggests ideally getting 120 hours of supervised on-road experience under different conditions. Take as many hazard perception tests as you can – even after you have passed your theory test! - this will give you much more ‘driving’ experience and increase your chance of spotting and safely dealing with hazards on the road.

  • Whether you are about to begin learning, or you have recently passed your test, take a look at this free-to-use e-learning platform at the FirstCar Academy. It comprises a series of 14 short videos to keep you and your friends safe on the roads.

  • Choose car insurance that provides you with a telematics system (black box). Not only can this make your insurance cheaper but having one fitted to your car can potentially save your life if you are ever involved in a serious collision. A black box also gives you a good excuse for telling your mates to stop asking you to drive faster and will make it far more likely that your vehicle gets recovered if it is ever stolen.

Make sure your passengers understand that when you are driving they need to follow your safe rules e.g. everyone always wears a seatbelt. Write your rules down and display them in your car if it helps to get the message across. Check out MyCarMyRules for more information.

Work with your parents

Ask your parents for help in keeping you safe - agree a no questions asked plan so that you can ring them for help if you get stuck - they will prefer a call from you rather than the police no matter what time of night it is.

These are our suggestions of small steps that you can take to keep everyone safe. We would love to hear from you if you have other hints and tips.