In Somerset 90% of road collisions involve cars and almost two thirds of collisions occur on rural roads.
If we are to reduce casualty rates, it is important that car drivers continue to improve their driving skills and road craft, whatever their age or experience, by taking advantage of the many courses now available.

Consider Your Speed Leaflet

Pre-Driver Education
Road safety officers work with schools to provide a variety of educational programmes designed to equip new drivers for the road. The Somerset Road Safety Partnership can also make a driving simulator available to schools. For more details contact the Somerset Road Safety Partnership roadsafety@somerset.gov.uk or 0844 980 0028

Arrive Alive– The Driving Standards Agency’s (DSA) Arrive Alive Road Safety Programme is dedicated to influencing young peoples’ attitude towards the responsibility of becoming a safe driver. We visit and deliver presentations to schools, colleges, youth offending teams and other organisations.

Driving Tuition
If you are preparing for the driving test, use an Approved Driving Instruction (ADI). Details from Yellow Pages.

Driving Test
Visit the Driving Standards Agency website for further information on driving tests www.dsa.gov.uk

Pass Plus
This scheme contains six modules which are not covered in the DSA driving test. Modules include: motorway driving, dual carriageways, town driving, adverse weather conditions, rural roads and night driving. Grants may be available towards the cost of a Pass Plus course. The fact that one in five young drivers has a crash in their first year of driving is an indication of the need for more young driver education.

Click here for further details of the Pass Plus Course

Pass Plus Grants
Somerset Road Safety Partnership encourages new drivers to participate in the Pass Plus course by offering grants. Currently £60 is being made available to drivers who are Somerset residents. Contact your local Driving Instructor, Driving Test Centre or Somerset Road Safety Partnership office for details – roadsafety@somerset.gov.uk or 0844 980 0028

 Keep the Romance Alive Leaflet

Other opportunities to improve your driving

Driver Awareness Courses
Somerset Road Safety Partnership runs Driver Awareness courses for groups or organisations in the county. These driver education sessions are classroom based with an option of assessment drives if required.
Any group or individual interested in attending one of these sessions should contact the Somerset Road Safety Partnership roadsafety@somerset.gov.uk or 0844 980 0028

Speed Choice
Speed Choice was set up in 2003 to run community-based programmes to bring drivers up to date with current legislation and make them more aware of a wide range of road safety issues, particularly the potential dangers of excessive speed.

More than 50,000 drivers have now attended one of its workshops for “low end” speeders – those just over the speed limit – to avoid having three points on their licence with 96 per cent saying they found them either good or excellent.

These sessions are designed to develop drivers’ knowledge of the consequences of irresponsible driving but Speed Choice doesn’t simply focus on people who have been caught exceeding a speed limit.
Research on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, shows a third of all serious and fatal road traffic incidents involve someone who was at work at the time – that’s an average of 270 fatal and serious crashes each week.

Speed Choice offers support to businesses, large or small, that employ drivers or where driving is part of an employee’s tasks, by providing educational and awareness workshops

For further information visit Speed Choice – Speed Awareness Courses – visit www.speedchoice.org.uk

Managing Occupational Road Risk – visit www.speedchoice.org.uk or www.rospa.com
Road safety experts visit firms to organise workshops for professional drivers or employees who spend much of their working life behind the wheel.
Click here for information on driving and driver education

To view a video on work related road safety Click Here.

Advanced Driving
Advanced driving groups have a significant part to play in encouraging drivers to improve their driving standards. Volunteers help encourage other drivers to adopt a systematic approach and defensive driving techniques which improve their overall driving skills and safety.

An advanced driver is up to 75% less likely to be involved in a collision.

There are two national groups that promote advanced driving both have local groups

• The Institute of Advanced Motorists - for more details visit www.iam.org.uk
• RoSPA Advanced Drivers – visit www.roada.org

Local contacts for Advanced Driving Groups are

• Institute of Advanced Motorists – Weston & Mendip contact 01761 221942
• Institute of Advanced Motorists – Taunton 01823 480392 www.tgam.org.uk
• Institute of Advanced Motorists – Camelot (Yeovil) 01935 474924 www.camelot.ukgo.com
• RoSPA Advanced Drivers – Taunton 01823 400554

Driving Tips
We must all take simple, practical steps to ensure the safety of every road user. It is vital to adhere to the following:

• Always drive within the speed limit
This will be the maximum permissible speed on the road under ideal conditions. This is not always a safe speed.
• Always drive to the conditions that prevail at that time
Single carriageway rural roads present many dangers. 60mph is often not safe.
• Always keep a safe distance from other vehicles
Remember - only a fool breaks the two second rule.
• Always wear your seatbelt
Make sure that you and all of your passengers wear seatbelts. Ensure that babies and young children are correctly restrained in a properly fitted car seat, which is appropriate for their weight and age.
• Always be considerate to other road users
Driving should be a pleasure, let us all make it so.
• Never drive when you are tired
Driving when you are tired greatly increases your risk of being involved in an accident. Remember to take regular breaks.
• Always take care at junctions
Be patient and wait for an appropriate gap in traffic. Don’t take risks.
• Never overtake on DOUBLE solid white lines
It is both illegal and a highly dangerous practice. The lines are there to warn motorists of danger.
• Never drink and drive
• Never use a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving.

Horse Safety
Given the nature of Somerset's roads it is common to encounter horses. Please remember the advice of the Highway Code on dealing with horses:
 
Rule 163 when overtaking, give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.

Rule 214 When passing animals, drive slowly. Give them plenty of room and be ready to stop. Do not scare animals by sounding your horn, revving your engine or accelerating rapidly once you have passed them. Look out for animals being led, driven or ridden on the road and take extra care. Keep your speed down at bends and on narrow counrty roads.

Rule 215 Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remeber riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders and horse drivers signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard; they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver.