Young drivers
In the UK, one in five of all killed or seriously injured casualties from collisions involving cars were in collisions involving a young car driver in 2023 (Department for Transport, 2024).
In the age group 17-24 years old, young male car drivers are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared to all car drivers aged over 25 (Department for Transport, 2024).
The most common contributory factor in this group of vulnerable road users is the driver failing to look properly. Other factors included a loss of control, exceeding the speed limit and the driver being a learner or inexperienced.
The Young Driver's Guide steers youngsters on the road to their full driving licence, covering a range of useful topics plus tips on passing the theory and practical tests. It is packed with advice for learners and inexperienced drivers, and guides young people through the challenging world of learning to drive and becoming an independent driver. Find out more here: Young drivers guide
In Lancashire, one in five casualties of all road traffic collisions are younger drivers aged 17-24, with males making up 65% of all of those killed or seriously injured. In 2024 there were nine fatalities aged 16-20 across Lancashire and more than 80% were male. In the collisions they were involved in, a further 12 young people were injured.
In 2025, Lancashire County Council commissioned Performance in Education to return to Lancashire to provide Braking Point sessions in November. Braking Point was a theatre in education intervention that was successfully piloted in Lancashire in November 2024 aimed at Year 12 students.
Braking Point aims to positively change attitudes and behaviours in young drivers and passengers to road safety by investigating ‘low level’ risks and passenger responsibility, leaving a lasting legacy of safe and responsible road use. It delivers messages and builds upon the learning by using hard hitting drama and emotional engagement to show the potential consequences of anti-social driving for the driver, passenger and other road users.
The intervention consisted of a multimedia drama production, follow up workshop, a set of teaching materials and online resources
For more information, contact the road safety team at roadsafetyeducation@lancashire.gov.uk
Young drivers are an at-risk demographic across Lancashire. The 'fatal five' continue to be issues in this age-group:
1. Speeding
2. Not wearing a seatbelt
3. Distraction/careless driving
4. Drink/drug driving
5. Using a mobile phone
Reaching this demographic with messages that resonate and influence behaviour change continues to be challenging.
Anecdeotal evidence from students and young people across Lancashire in the 16-24 age demographic suggests that they have moved away from using Facebook and Instagram and more towards short-form platforms such as TikTok.
Evidence suggests that a growing number of young people use TikTok when searching for information and advice which can present a risk for road safety as both influencers and channels can glamourise risky behaviour and be sources of misinformation.
In 2024 together with other local authorities Lancashire County Council's road safety team began to work in collaboration with FirstCarUK on their Tik Tok channel. The content is intended to be accurate and accessible to this vulnerable road user group.
Follow these @firstcaruk
School councils and road safety ambassadors
Many of our schools report facing local problems with a variety of road safety issues ranging from inconsiderate parking at school drop-off and pickup times, to near-misses and road traffic collisions involving school-age pedestrians and cyclists.
We encourage schools to use their school councils to act as Road Safety Ambassadors to research and learn more about the local issues schools face related to road safety and enable them to identify and engage with their wider school communities.
This should involve minimum input from teachers with the main emphasis being placed on the school council. A teacher or teaching assistant/teaching assistant could be nominated by the school to act as a school guide and to offer advice and support to the school council and to liaise with the local Road Safety Officer.
Aims and objectives:
Share and promote key road safety messages
Support and raise the profile of safer travel to school
Promote responsible behaviour during these journeys
Equip peers with the skills and confidence needed to travel both safely and independently
Empower young people to be responsible citizens and to work in partnership
If you are interested in your school council participating in the Road safety Ambassador programme, email roadsafetyducation@lancashire.gov.uk
Theatre in education
For the academic year 2026, Lancashire County Council has commissioned Performance in Education to provide road safety productions and interventions across the county.
Each live and captivating performance is followed by an interactive workshop and question time. Using the performance as a springboard, students are then invited to challenge the attitudes and behaviours they have witnessed and consider what they should do in similar circumstances. The session is followed up with a bespoke scheme of teaching materials to support continuation of learning.
For more information please email: roadsafetyeducation@lancashire.gov.uk
Streetwise - Year 7
During the academic year 2025-26, the council commissioned Performance in Education to deliver their Streetwise programme to around 8,000 Year 7 pupils, using the power of theatre to deliver vital road safety messages to pupils via a compelling performance.
The production will provide newly independent year 7 students the opportunity to explore risk, responsibility and consequences as a pedestrian. This will enable them to make informed decisions, manage their personal safety and understand how their behaviour affects those around them.
You Only Live Once (YOLO) - Year 9
You Only Live Once is a thought-provoking performance aimed at young passenger safety to year 9 pupils. In 2025 a total of 6,424 students across the county participated in the performance and workshops, with more than a third completing evaluation forms where 94% of them stated that the interventions made them think about the effects of risk taking behaviour on the roads and 71% stating they had a greater understanding of how their actions as a passenger could influence how a car was being driven.
Braking Point - Year 12
Staying safe behind the wheel involves learning how to stay in control of yourself as well as your vehicle. By creating this awareness in young people, Braking Point is able to make a positive difference to young drivers and passenger behaviour.
Students investigate their own attitudes to personal safety and responsibility whenever they are in a vehicle as either a passenger or young driver. Engaging workshop techniques challenge preconceptions and develop solutions so that young people can make informed and sustainable decisions to positively change their behaviour and understand their responsibility to other road users and passengers.
Graduated Driver Licensing
There is a growing concern for our younger drivers as statistically they are over-represented in killed and seriously injured (KSI) statistics nationally and in Lancashire.
Many countries use a graduated drivers licence programme (GDL) that supports young drivers to gain valuable driving experience whilst minimising the factors that put most young inexperienced drivers at risk.
The AA has recently launched a policy on GDL. Brake, the national road safety charity and RoadPeace have been calling for a GDL for quite some time.
GDL schemes already operate in other countries and have proven to significantly reducae road deaths and serious injuries. Australia, New Zealand, many US States and it was recently introduced in Northern Ireland.
The AA has estimated that 58 lives annually could be saved by GDL.