PCC-funded Pathfinder course is four times safer for young drivers

• A pre-test course for beginner drivers, subsidised by the Gloucestershire PCC for almost a decade, delivers ‘substantial’ benefits to its students, according to a survey
•  the study found that graduates of the ‘Pathfinder’ programme are four times safer than their peers
• they are also involved in fewer accidents and less likely to be convicted of a traffic offence
• the PCC for Gloucestershire, Chris Nelson, said: “These are very impressive figures, but most of all, they point to the success Pathfinder is having in preparing young people for when they get behind the wheel for real”.

It was one the first projects to be funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire. Now, a recent survey has shown the value of long term investment in the Pathfinder young driver programme.

The study, run by the Under-17 Car Club Charitable Trust, confirms that the Pathfinder course delivers ‘substantial’ benefits to its students when compared to other similar pathways.

The survey found that:

• Statistically, Pathfinder graduates are four times safer than their peers
• they are involved in fewer accidents, and
• are less likely to be convicted of a traffic offence.

Based on those who completed the survey, the accident rate for Pathfinder participants across all their years of driving – approximately 119 years on the road between them – was 14% or one accident in every 11.9 driving years, considered to be a very low rate for young and novice drivers.

“It is a conscious and deliberate decision by the Trust to focus our attention, and that of our Car Club members and Pathfinder students, on learning to drive as a life skill”

A 3% accident rate in their first year of driving, post the Driver and Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) test compared with more than 20% nationally. While of those who completed the survey, only two drivers (5%) had been convicted of a traffic offence, compared with nearly 24%* of all drivers nationally – and even then only of a single offence.

This is what some of them had to say:

“As I live in an area where car crime is very high, this [Pathfinder] gave me a massive leg up to help me do it legally, as I wouldn’t have been able to afford to take all the lessons to get to the standard that Pathfinder got me to in a week. Brilliant course highly recommended”.

“The course gave me the confidence to be able to apply everything I learned to pass driving test and confidence with driving instructor. Brilliant course, would fully recommend to others”.

“Should be compulsory for all learners”.

The survey also showed that the average mileage being driven by Pathfinder drivers, after their driving test, was broadly consistent with national averages**, with 59% driving over 5,000 miles per annum and 27% over 10,000 miles p.a., which compared to the national average in 2017 of 7,800 miles per annum.

Under 17 Car Club Charitable Trust Chair of Trustees Paul Silverwood said, “We believe the statistics we have gathered, from real-world participants in both Pathfinder and the Under 17 Car Club, provide compelling evidence that the education and experience we offer has a significant, measurable impact on road safety amongst newly-qualified young drivers.

“And we can reasonably infer that the accident rate amongst Pathfinder graduates is far better per mile than the general young population, as well as in absolute terms.

“It is a conscious and deliberate decision by the Trust to focus our attention, and that of our Car Club members and Pathfinder students, on learning to drive as a life skill.

“We do not ‘teach the test’ so our success suggests the U17CC/ Pathfinder methodology ensures that the requirements of the DVSA curriculum are observed, whilst Members are perhaps better prepared through longer exposure and greater (private road) driving experience than their peer group”.

The trust’s survey also indicates that Pathfinder students are better prepared for the DVSA test, boasting a first time pass rate of 87% compared to the national average pass rate of 47.1%* (2019/20). Similarly, the Hazard Perception first time pass rate for Pathfinder respondents was 87% against the estimated national average pass rate of 50%.

PCC for Gloucestershire, Chris Nelson, said: “These are very impressive figures, but most of all, they point to the success Pathfinder is having in preparing young people for when they get behind the wheel.

“We know from scientific research that younger drivers are almost programmed to take more risks because they don’t see danger in the same way as older drivers. So it is equally reassuring that 100% of those who took part in this survey, believed Pathfinder had a positive impact on their behaviour on the road and improved their knowledge of how to drive safely”.

Pathfinder courses are partially subsidised by the PCCs for Gloucestershire and West Mercia, Safer Roads Humber and the Under 17 Car Club Charitable Trust itself. This funding is particularly applied to young people living in supported care or other deprived circumstances to ensure equality of opportunity wherever possible.

Pathfinder students are better prepared for the DVSA test, boasting a first time pass rate of 87% compared to the national average pass rate of 47.1%*

 There has also been practical support from: Traffic Officers from Gloucestershire and West Mercia, Firefighters from Hereford and Worcester and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Services, and Road Safety experts from Safer Roads Humber.

Driving standards at the Club are evaluated annually by an external assessor, typically an observer or examiner with IAM Roadsmart, the UK’s leading road safety charity and advocate or the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Pathfinder adopts the Car Club instruction model and its current Chief Instructor is a National Observer with IAM Roadsmart.

*http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/motorists-with-driving-convictions- rife-on-british-roads-179962241.html)

** https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-

occupancy