Nine young drivers killed in region prompts 'no-nonsense' advice on drink, drugs and 'showing off'

As well as the nine deaths among drivers aged 17 to 25, 104 suffered serious injuries.

Now driving instructors in Shropshire are being urged to sign up to a police initiative called The Honest Truth - an established road safety education campaign which aims to keep young drivers safe on the roads through bitesize information delivered during driving lessons.

The initiative aims to deliver "no-nonsense, straight-talking road safety education" around ten key issues including mobile phones, speeding, seatbelts, tiredness, drink, drugs and "showing off".

West Mercia Police's Road Safety Team is funding 35 driving instructors in Shropshire to subscribe to The Honest Truth until Feb 2025.

Those who sign up get access to a bespoke app that enables them to deliver the ten road safety truths to their pupils as part of a course of driving lessons. These are delivered via short videos presented by young people and are used as a discussion base for that particular topic within the lesson.

Instructors will also receive additional resources to share with their students and a free listing on the ‘Find an Instructor’ page on The Honest Truth website.

Superintendent Steph Brighton said: “New and young drivers continue to be over-represented in road casualty statistics both locally and nationally, and we remain committed to trying to change this and reducing the number of young people killed and injured on our roads.

“As well as 24/7 enforcement activity, we support and deliver well-established road safety education workshops within schools and colleges including our own Green Light programme and partner agency-led programmes such as Your Impact.

“To support this further, we’re keen to work with local driving instructors and provide them with The Honest Truth resources as they are in the unique position of engaging with young drivers when they are at a crucial point in their driving career. On top of the essential driving skills that young people are learning during their lessons, The Honest Truth campaign aims to make them aware of the risks they face when they start to drive alone and the positive choices they can make to keep themselves and others around them safe.”

Funded places are limited and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis. Instructors interested can register their interest at thehonesttruth.co.uk/join.

John Campion, police and crime commissioner for West Mercia, said: “It’s a sad fact that too many people are seriously injured or killed on our roads. Road safety is at the heart of my Safer West Mercia Plan, so I fully support this new and innovative initiative between West Mercia Police and The Honest Trust.

“To ensure there’s long-lasting change, it’s important we are honest to new and young drivers and ensure they are equipped with all the knowledge they need to play their part in making West Mercia’s roads safer.”