Thursday 25th April 2013

(11 years, 2 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Bill Wiggin Portrait Bill Wiggin (North Herefordshire) (Con)
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I will delay the Chamber for only a few moments. I want to draw attention to the tremendous work of Dr Ruth Brinton, who was deputy principal of Hereford sixth form college, in trying to cut the number of deaths of young people aged 17 and 18. They are more likely to be involved in a road traffic accident if there are more of them in the car than if they are driving alone. To that end, she put together “E-driver”, an interactive video with questions to remind 16-year-olds in particular of their responsibilities as passengers and as new and young drivers. It is an extremely hard-hitting film that was put together free by the police and fire brigade. It is available to every school and I hope—this is my purpose in speaking today—to encourage the Minister to encourage the Department for Education to ensure that 17-year-olds have a chance to see it. It could be adapted to make it more relevant to different counties, but it works extremely well in any area. It reminds young people that texting and doing the things they do when not in a car really is very dangerous, particularly for young drivers. I hope the Minister will use his good offices to ensure that “E-driver” is seen by all 17-year-olds so that we cut the number of deaths of young and vulnerable drivers.