CARELESS drivers are to be taught a lesson in safe motoring.

Bury's Seedfield Centre in Walmersley is to be made available to accommodate a local branch of the new Greater Manchester Driver Improvement Scheme.

Under the project, drivers who commit a wide range of "due care and attention" traffic offences will be forced to pay £130 for re-training courses to improve their driving skills.

The scheme, which is already operating in a majority of counties in England and Wales, has donated £2,000 towards the £20,000 set-up costs of the project

The scheme is intended to ease pressure on the courts by dealing directly with those drivers who have committed traffic offences, including speeding, failing to exercise care in turning manoeuvres, overtaking without due care, tailgating, and incidents caused by an error of judgement where the driver has fallen below a competent driving standard. No driver involved in a fatal crash will be involved in the scheme.

The Driver Improvement Scheme seeks to improve the driving skills, attitude and behaviour of drivers on the course, designed to reduce the number of crashes and injury to drivers. The course, organised by the Greater Manchester Group of Road Safety Officers, will be run over a Friday and Saturday morning and will take between 12 and 15 drivers. It will be split between theory classes and practical on-road driving examinations by Authorised Driving Instructors.

Bury's senior road safety officer, Mr Paul Birch, said: "This is one of the most important road safety initiatives to be produced for a number of years and we welcome the move.

"Since the start of the Devon Scheme in 1991, 47 projects are currently being operated within England and Wales while Scotland is in the process of evaluating the idea.

"Greater Manchester will be the last piece of the jigsaw which will complete the scheme's availability within the North West."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.