Major conference on saving lives of young drivers

11:50am Friday 4th January 2008

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By Sally Henfield »

LEADING politicians, road safety experts and business leaders and will attend a major conference next week to discuss ways of saving the lives of young drivers.

The Ewood Park event is a joint venture between and the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety, and the Lancashire Telegraph as part of our Wasted Lives campaign.

More than 100 people are expected to be at next Friday's event which will also see the launch of an educational DVD, produced by the partnership, which tells the heartbreaking story of the Hannon family who lost their son Matthew in a car crash.

Speakers will include Blackburn MP Jack Straw, Lancashire Telegraph editor Kevin Young, chief superintendent Dave Mallaby, Linda Sanderson from the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety (LPRS) and Graham Campbell, from Blackburn and Darwen's Road Safety Group.

A debate will then be held involving a panel and the audience which will be made up of young people, police experts, emergency service workers, business leaders and the Hannon family, who will also address those gathered.

The panel will consist of Mr Straw, Janet Anderson, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, Mr Young, Mr Mallaby, John Davies, project manager of LPRS, Neil Cunliffe, group manager of Lancashire County Council's road safety group and Mike Parish, of Roadsafe.

Lancashire Telegraph editor Kevin Young said: "This is a great opportunity to discuss the issues surrounding young drivers, and hopefully to gather support for our campaign to bring about important legislative and educational changes.

"The next few months are vital as the Government enters a period of consultation, and we would like Lancashire to lead the way in pressing for measures which we believe will save lives."

Kat Whitemoss, of the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety said: "The Missing Matthew DVD will bring home to the young people that watch it the very real consequences of risk taking on the roads. The DVD also has a section for parents or guardians to watch with information on how they can spot the warning signs of irresponsible behaviour and how they can tackle it."

The Missing Matthew DVD tells the story of the Hannon family, who lost their 22-year-old son in a crash after he raced a friend along Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn.

The first part of the DVD, to be played in schools as part of a dedicated lesson plan, shows how Ann and Terry Hannon have dealt with their son's death. The second part is a teaching tool for parents, with a police officer offering advice on how to get youngsters to drive more responsibly.

The Lancashire Telegraph's Wasted Lives campaign continues to push for legislative and educational change that could reduce the number of accidents involving drivers under the age of 25.

It is calling for the age of sitting a driving test to be raised to 18 and for a graduated licensing system to be introduced. A government consultation, looking at both of these issues, is due to start this month and will last for 12 weeks before decisions are expected later in the year.

To view the DVD log onto www.safe2travel.co.uk and follow the link to the Missing Matthew pages.

l See a full set of our aims at www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk /news/wastedlives