Road Safety Award for local project

Youth Empowerment and Resilience (YEAR) project through Causeway Rural and Urban Network (CRUN) won the voluntary sector category in Northern Ireland’s Road Safety Awards.

The inaugural Road Safety Awards honoured those across the country that have worked tirelessly to improve road safety in their community.

YEAR’s ‘Drive for Life’ course was funded by the DOE Road Safety Scheme and the Big Lottery. This accredited training course aims to improve the knowledge and awareness of potential drivers to the freedom and independence that driving brings, coupled with the extreme dangers that it will expose them to, whilst behind the wheel; along with a better understanding of the PSNI and DOE’s requirements to improve the drive to save lives.

Sessions covered in the course included; applying for a driving licence, an awareness of the hazard perception test and theory test criteria, car modifications and the human/financial costs of driving.

Michele Loughery YEAR Project Coordinator said: “This is the second year of our Drive for Life course and we hope it continues for many years to come as many young people are keen to learn to drive as soon as possible and whilst we want to encourage their independence and freedom, we need them to be aware of their limitations whilst driving.”

Congratulating the local project, Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan said: “Driving is an enjoyable experience and we want to inform and enhance this to help young people enjoy a lifetime of safe motoring. However, this new-found freedom needs to be handled with extreme responsibility. Educating young people and influencing attitudes and behaviours towards road safety is vital; and the first step towards achieving this is to instil good road user attitudes and behaviours in young people, “ said the Minister.