Transition Times: Young people feel singled out for causing problems on the road, but the figures speak for themselves. Educate yourself early, writes Gráinne Faller

On a Thursday night just over two weeks ago Colm Tierney, David McNamara and Michael McConville went out. There was nothing remarkable about that: they were 17 years old, after all. We can be pretty certain that none of them contemplated that he wouldn't make it home.

Colm and David were friends. They had received their Leaving Cert results in the summer. Michael didn't know the other two. He was from Ballybrack, in Dublin, and we may never know what happened or why his car struck a tree near his home that morning.

David and Colm were in a red Toyota Starlet, in Co Tipperary, when they crashed into a four-wheel drive. Colm, who was the passenger, died at the scene. David made it to hospital, in Limerick, but died, five hours after his friend, in the operating theatre. That was only the beginning, as five more young men died after a crash in Co Monaghan the following Sunday.

What is happening? Young people feel that they are being singled out and demonised while older drivers cause their own share of problems on the road, and yet the statistics speak for themselves. If you are between 17 and 24 you are far more likely than anyone else to be killed on the roads.

If you're male the figures are particularly bad. About 96 of the 300 or so people killed on the roads this year were under 25, and 40 of those were under 20. Bad driving, bad roads and lack of education are problems for everyone, but young people are vulnerable because they lack experience. They are paying the heaviest price.

There are some driver- and road-safety courses for transition-year students. The main obstacle, according to transition-year co-ordinators, is money.

"We do three separate courses in our school," says Seán Coffey, who co-ordinated transition year at Mercy Secondary School in Mounthawk, Tralee. "Two of those are hugely expensive, so it is a big pressure to find the resources for them. It's by far the greatest expense for transition year."

Some county councils are trying to help lessen the financial blow, and some schools are raising money so their students can take part in a course. The Garda does its bit by giving free road-safety presentations.

The Road Safety Authority offers a classroom resource, the Staying Alive programme, but it is optional and less than scintillating. It plans to bring in a new programme, in conjunction with the Department of Education and Science, that will take the form of a compulsory 10-week module. According to Brian Farrell of the authority, however, there is not yet a time frame for its introduction.

So does this kind of education do any good? And is it worth investing in? Ray Fuller, professor of psychology at Trinity College Dublin, has a special interest in the behaviour of road users.

"It's reckoned to be good to start early, before the person has a chance to drive a vehicle," he says. "It's worth trying anything to prevent this unnecessary loss of life."

Attitude is a major factor in road deaths, according to Fuller, and major problems arise when driving is not so much a means of transport as a recreational activity.

"Many young people, young men in particular, display certain personality traits: they are impulsive, risk-seeking, they are vulnerable to social pressure from their peer group," says Fuller.

"They don't seem to have internalised the necessity for consideration for other road users. All of these attitudes and behaviours are ones that one would describe as immature."

Fuller believes that a graduated form of driver education would be an improvement on the current situation.

"There is, in a way, a certain logic to having staged education and driver training linked to logged experience," he says.

"How many people would give a high-powered rifle to a 17-year-old, especially without any education or training? They wouldn't, because they know that somebody would be killed, accidentally or otherwise. But that is essentially what we are doing at the moment by letting our young people into cars without the proper skills. The outcome is the same."

• If you have any suggestions about or views on driver education in TY, e-mail gfaller@irish-times.ie

• Thousands of drivers are on the road but have never sat a driving test. See today's Motors

What's available: national programmes

Think Awareness
Run by Rosemary Smith Driving School
€85 per student for a day

Students spend half the day in the classroom, being taught about the rules of the road, road signs, risk perception, safety behind the wheel and motoring skills. The second half of the day is spent either in a properly insured area of school grounds or in Smith's own facility, where students spend time driving with an instructor in a dual-control car putting what they have learned into practice. Students are tested at the end of the day and given an information pack and certificate upon successful completion of the course.

"It's about teaching students to please put their brains in gear before putting a car in gear," says Rosemary Smith.

For further information see www.rosemarysmithdriving.com or call 01-2956570. Think Awareness is sponsored by Ford.

Drive For Life
Run by: Bayside Services, Dooagh, Achill, Co Mayo
€395 per class for a day

The Drive For Life Programme has an agreement with some county council Road Safety Officers who have agreed to subsidise this programme in schools. In the morning students are shown what happens when things go wrong on the road. Some of this is quite graphic and potentially upsetting, but probably won't be forgotten in a hurry. In the afternoon, students learn how to do things properly - such as how to choose a good driving instructor and the importance of seatbelts.

"Teenagers think they're invincible," says Lesley McNeely who runs the programme with her husband Pat. "We show them what does happen." The team have gone to great lengths to choose stories and videos that the students will identify with.

For further information see www.drivesafe4life.com or call 098-43766.

Steer Clear
Run by: Irish Drivers Education Authority
Duration: 20 hours for part one, €350 per student, redeemable against a motor insurance policy

As a whole, the Steer Clear programme is the closest thing we have to a graduated driver education system. Part one is classroom-based and students explore all aspects of safety on the road, the car itself and safe driving. This is based on successful education programmes internationally. Students would be expected to complete part one in transition year. Part two consists of between eight and 10 hours of driving lessons, and in part three, students have 40 hours of logged driving experience under the supervision of an adult. If the student completes all three parts, they receive a further 10 per cent discount on insurance.

For details see www.steerclear.ie. Or if that's all a bit rich . . .

It Won't Happen To Me
Run by: gardaí in every division in the country are trained to deliver this presentation to schools
Free, for 1½ hours

Trained gardaí from a background of traffic policing give this Powerpoint presentation which includes videos from Ireland and abroad. "It's a mix of shock tactics and conveying the reality of what can happen," says Gda Declan Egan. The gardaí mix their own experiences with the content of the presentation to try to show students that it could well happen to them.

For further information contact your local Garda Division Office.

Over to you: what students say about road safety

MICHAEL HOLOHAN
15, Co Laois

Is road safety something you think about? I listen to the news like everyone else, so I suppose it is. I don't know if it sinks in, though.

Have you had any driver or road-safety education in transition year? We did a Drive for Life course. It really opens your eyes. There are pretty severe images of what happens. It opens your eyes to the fact that speed does kill, drink-driving, drug-driving, all of that.

Was it effective? It was. Some of the images are very severe. It's boys in my class, and speed is on a lot of our minds, really and truly. It's important to let you know the dangers before you get involved in a crash.

Any suggestions for the Road Safety Authority's compulsory TY programme? I'd definitely recommend the course we did. It was upsetting for some, but it made the advice about safety much more effective.

BARRY HUGHES
16, Co Cavan

Is road safety something you think about? Not really. I'm not driving at the minute. You see it in the papers, about all the road deaths, but it goes over your head. People who are nearly 17 are thinking of the freedom that a car will give them. Where I'm from, the only bus you get is to and from school. A car gives you such freedom. Safety is sometimes the last thing they'd be thinking about.

Have you had any driver or road-safety education in transition year? A garda came in to talk to us about road safety. He showed a load of slides and talked to us about it. It was very interesting.

Was it effective? Absolutely. It went through what happens in a crash, all the lives that are affected. It really got through to people in the class.

Any suggestions for the Road Safety Authority's compulsory TY programme? The shock tactics were really effective. Learning the rules of the road is fine, but it doesn't mean you'll follow them. If you were shown how to drive, maybe that would help, but I really thought the shock tactics were the most effective method.

CAOIMHE GARVEY
16, Co Kerry

Is road safety something you think about? It's the kind of thing you want to learn about before you get into a car. You need to know what you're doing. There are so many crashes I think that everyone is aware.

Have you had any driver or road-safety education in transition year? We had a talk about car safety - how to put your seat belt on properly and things like that. Then they brought us out to a truck where they had a half-car and showed us how to check the tyres and the petrol and all that.

Was it effective? It was really effective. The man who gave the talk had worked with crashes. It had a big effect on everyone, even the guys learning to drive now. It was so graphic. One of the girls from my year got into her dad's car afterwards and showed him how to put his seatbelt on properly.

Any suggestions for the Road Safety Authority's compulsory TY programme? Shock tactics. They give you such an image in your mind. The stuff about checking your wheels and petrol was really good as well. It's stuff you need to know, but nobody teaches you about it.