Supporting young drivers' road safety

Young drivers are up to four times more likely to be killed or injured on the road than older drivers – but what can we do to change this?

Last year Reed in Partnership was pleased to support an innovative project that harnessed virtual reality (VR) technology to support young learner drivers to improve their ability to spot and predict hazards and better avoid danger on the roads.

Developed by Dr Victoria Kroll and Dr David Crundall from Esitu Solutions and based on academic research from Nottingham Trent University, this VR course is the first of its kind to have been developed for young drivers. The course safely placed users in immersive VR experiences that provided lifelike driving simulations to test, analyse and ultimately increase hazard perception.

Today we’re pleased to be able to share the evaluation of this research pilot. The findings suggest that the one-hour course has been successful in supporting young people to improve their knowledge, understanding and self-perceived skill in hazard perception.

Simon Mitchell, Divisional Director at Reed in Partnership, said: “Reed in Partnership wants to play its part in supporting the safety of our young people on the roads. We are already playing a role through our secure Test Centre network that delivers the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency Driving Theory Test to around 2.5 million people a year.

“We’re pleased to build on this work by supporting the rollout of this innovative training that is helping young drivers to improve their road skills. Many areas for learning and continuous improvement have been identified from this pilot and I would urge anyone interested in taking it forward to contact the Esitu team.”

To find out more about this research, you can read the full report below including the key conclusions and recommendations for how the course could be improved and rolled out further in the future.

Download the full report →