YOUNGSTERS keen to learn to drive have a couple of different ways to get ahead of the game.
The help comes as lessons and tests are set to resume in Scotland on Monday after more than a year of disruption because of Covid curbs.
And the support could be vital as figures show an alarming rise in driving test crashes in recent years.
Lockdowns have meant that 1.4million teenagers across the UK have potentially had their driving tuition put on hold, with the number of tests falling by 64 per cent in the nine months from April to December 2020 compared with the year before.
But a new Young Driver App will help take learners from first lesson to driving test by providing repeatable, cost-effective practice via 360-degree videos filmed with real instructors.
This is alongside theory test information, practice modules and hazard perception videos. Viewable on phones or VR headsets, the all-around view can be rotated to see manoeuvres from every angle.
Written and narrated by telly motoring presenter Quentin Willson, the initial series of 12 videos take teens through learning to drive step-by-step as they would in real-life lessons.
Launched by Young Driver, the UK’s largest pre-17 driving school, the app covers the likes of tackling roundabouts and perfecting parking and reversing manoeuvres.
Marketing boss Sue Waterfield said: “There are lots of learn-to-drive apps that focus on the theory test, but the 360-degree in-cockpit view animates remote learning as it’s so immersive.
“Young Driver knows from the hundreds of instructors it works with that waiting lists for learners in 2021 will be considerable. While nothing replaces practical lessons, the app will help teens keep practising even if they can’t physically get out in a car.”
Willson added: “This is game-changing, with instructors driving cars on real-life roads so learners can practise and repeat lessons remotely at home to become more familiar with road situations.”
Youngsters can also gain valuable time at the wheel by signing up for a comprehensive driving session such as that offered by the famous Knockhill circuit in Fife.
The motorsport venue’s director of events, Stuart Gray, said: “Our Teen Drive experience is the most popular it has ever been, with huge demand just now. We start again on Monday and we’re already having to put on extra dates.”
DrivingExperience.com operates at a number of Scottish venues and offers a variety of junior experiences – including lessons with Young Driver.
The online outfit’s Alex MacGregor said: “Driving lessons and tests have become a hot commodity across the UK, meaning it’s more important than ever to be one step ahead of the crowd.
“We provide a wide range of driving lessons with a fully qualified instructor for children over the age of 10 to get behind the wheel and learn the basics on a track rather than a road.”
Young Driver will restart its activities north of the Border on Sunday, May 2, at Silverburn in Glasgow.
Both the app and track/private road experiences could be useful in preventing crashes during driving tests – which have soared by 67 per cent in five years.
Driving Standards Agency figures requested by dealership chain Group1 Automotive showed 695 people crashed in their practical driving tests between 2019 and 2020.
That compares with 414 accidents during 2015 to 2016, with 2978 learners having vehicle-to-vehicle collisions during the overall timescale.
Meanwhile, research by online car marketplace heycar has highlighted waiting times to sit a practical test.
Galashiels is the best in Scotland at five weeks, followed by Inverness (six), Dundee, Elgin, Greenock and Kirkcaldy (seven) and Dumbarton, Perth, Peterhead and Stirling (eight).
The worst places, at 18 weeks, are Crief, Inveraray and Mallaig, with Callander, Campbeltown, Grantown-on-Spey, the isles of Mull and Tiree, Kyle of Lochalsh and Thurso at 17 weeks.
