Uttlesford students get clued up on road safety

TEENAGERS have been given a taste of how to stay safe on the roads at a hard-hitting – but fun – one-day workshop.

About 800 pupils from each of district’s secondary schools took part in the 11th Motorwise.

The eight-day initiative, held at Carver Barracks, is run by Uttlesford District Council and its partners in the Community Safety Partnership with the aim of educating 16 and 17-year-olds about all things automotive.

It included a law quiz, drugs and alcohol workshop, basic maintenance, hazard awareness and driving techniques. Each of the teenagers also got the chance to drive a car with qualified instructors.

The district council’s community safety officer Martin Ford said: “Motorwise is extremely popular – staff realise its benefits and the pupils love it.

“The whole point is to offer these students the opportunity to learn about the hazards of consequences of being on the road. It gives them an insight into the driving skills for the rest of their lives.

“Where else are they going to get the input of all these professionals, all in one place out of the classroom, just before they go out on the road themselves?

“If they go on to become even slightly better drivers as a result then it is worth it.”

Students from Saffron Walden County High, Mountfitchet Mathematics and Computing College in Stansted and Newport Free Grammar School all took part.