Our daughter was a student and worked part time at a social care company in order to pay her way through university. On the day of her death she took a 12 year old girl in care shopping in a car provided by the care employer ... the car skidded, hit a tree and burst into flames ... both occupants burnt to death. The car was subsequently found to have defective tyres, which was known about by the employers for weeks prior to the accident. Whilst the police prosecuted the company for defective tyres the fine was minimal in the context of the loss of two lives ... the Heath and Safety Executive will not involve themselves as the incident took place on the public road.

Impress upon your children and family the importance of a well maintained car ... the law offers little in terms of justice. As all of us on here ... it isn't possible to come to terms with your childs death, and its very hard to learn to live with it.

YOU can help by signing the petition : http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/wor...

The facts
Passing the driving test opens up a whole new world of freedom and independence.

But new drivers should remember that they are 'on probation' for the first 2 years. If they get 6 penalty points in this time, they lose their licence and can only get it back if they pass a re-test.

Statistics show that drivers are most at risk of having an accident in the first 2 years or so after they pass their test. One in five newly qualified drivers has a crash of some description within a year.

More young drivers killed
Around 16 per cent more drivers aged 16-19 are killed now compared with 15 years ago.

Six points and you're out
Under the Road Traffic (New drivers) Act 1995, new drivers who clock up 6 or more penalty points during the first 2 years automatically lose their licence.

To continue driving, they have to reapply for a provisional licence and go back to being a learner - using 'L' plates and being supervised by a qualified driver until they pass the both the theory and practical driving test all over again.

This only applies to first-time drivers. So if you already have a full licence in one category and pass a test in another (eg a lorry), you don't have to undergo another probationary period.

However, if you pass a test for another category and you first leaned to drive abroad outside the EU/EEA, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar or the Channel Islands and exchanged your licence for a British licence without needing to pass the British test, your probationary period starts when you pass your test and you will lose your licence if you reach 6 points in 2 years.

Why put new drivers on probation?
We want to reduce the number of people killed and injured on the roads. Young, newly qualified drivers are more at risk in the first 2 years or so after passing their test than at any other time in their motoring career. One in five will have an accident of some description in the first year alone.

Counting the 6 points
All penalty points count, even those for Fixed Penalty Notices in the first 2 years after passing the driving test. It's the date of the offence that is important, not the date of the court hearing or the Fixed Penalty Notice.

Any penalty points earned before passing a test also count – they are valid for 3 years.

After a new driver runs up 6 or more penalty points, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will write to tell them that their licence has been revoked and is no longer valid.

Think! Road Safety

The Facts

-Breaking the speed limit, or driving too fast for the conditions on the road, contributes to more than 850 deaths and 33,000 injuries every year.
-In 2006, going over the speed limit was reported as a factor in 14 per cent of fatal accidents.
-And exceeding the speed limit or going too fast for the conditions was reported as a factor in 29 per cent of fatal accidents.
-Over 70 per cent of drivers in one study admitted to speeding and in other studies the figure was 85 per cent.

Think! Strategy For Urban Speed

The aim of our campaigns is to illustrate the dangers of speeding and encourage people to drive at speeds appropriate to the conditions by pointing out the incremental danger of even relatively small increases in speed.

The current THINK! urban speed campaign illustrates the reasons why speed limits, particularly the 30mph limit, exist, by pointing out that if you hit a child at 40 mph there's an 80% chance they'll be killed, but if you hit them at 30mph there's an 80% chance they'll survive.

The television ad illustrates the potentially fatal consequences of not sticking to the speed limit and ends with the line: 'It's 30 for a reason'.

Results

A combination of engineering and enforcement measures alongside the education campaigns have seen some improvements in speeding behaviours. For example, in 1995 72% of cars exceeded the speed limit in 30mph zones; by 2005 this had reduced to 50%.

Key Messages

-If you hit an adult pedestrian while driving at 30mph, they have an 80 per cent chance of surviving.
-If you hit a pedestrian while driving at 40mph, they have a 90 per cent chance of dying - 80 per cent for a child.
-Speed limits are there for a reason.

Why speeding is a bad idea
Deciding what speed to drive at is a continuous process and can be a difficult judgement to make. THINK! has put together some tips to raise drivers' awareness of the dangers of driving too fast.

Driving too fast is bad driving
Drivers rightly think things like poor lane discipline (eg: not getting into the right lane before a turn-off or roundabout, or failing to keep to the left when not overtaking on motorways and dual carriageways), failure to signal and driving too close are examples of poor driving.

However, some people are reluctant to accept that driving too fast is also poor driving. But it is - breaking the speed limit, or driving too fast for the conditions on the road, contributes to more that 850 deaths and 33,000 injuries every year.

Excessive speed is a criminal offence
"Excessive speed" means going over the speed limit. Doing this is a criminal offence and, if you're caught, it's likely to result in a fine and penalty points on your licence.

In most cases, you'll get a standard fine and licence endorsement. But more serious cases may result in you being taken to court.

Inappropriate speed is too fast
You don't have to be driving over the speed limit to be driving too fast.

"Inappropriate speed" means driving within the speed limit, but too fast for the road and traffic conditions. It includes approaching a bend or junction too fast, not negotiating narrow roads properly and overtaking where it's inappropriate.

Inappropriate speed can also be a factor in poor weather conditions and when driving at night. Choosing the appropriate speed is about judgement, Most people think they get it right. Sadly, the statistics show many get it wrong.

Think! Road Safety