Gearing up

“They swear a lot,” was 12-year-old Annie Keates Thorpe’s understandable response when her driving instructor asked what adult drivers do when they’re sat at a junction.

The answer the Young Driver instructor was actually looking for was “look around and move off” – the starting point for an hour-long lesson on a huge car park at Manchester’s Sportcity.

Young Driver is expanding from London and Birmingham to Manchester and further with lessons for 11-16-year-olds covering standard road manoeuvres, taught by approved instructors trained to teach children and CRB checked.

Kim Stanton of Young Driver said: “The lessons are great fun but learning to drive at an early age is also a huge benefit.
“Young drivers are the most vulnerable group on our roads – one in five crash within six months of passing their test. Research from Sweden shows that accidents among young people are reduced by 40 per cent when drivers gain experience before they are 17.”

Photo: Annie Keates Thorpe behind the wheel