Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

To launch Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ WM's Drive to stay Alive campaign, breakfast show presenter Phil Upton spoke to Vicki Stone, founder, with her husband, of road safety pressure group 'Learn and Live'.

Raising awareness: Vicki Stone

The Stone's daughter, Kate, was 17 when she died, along with her friend Claire, in a car accident on the Dudley Road, July 1988.

The girls were passengers driven by a learner in his own car. Claire had recently passed her test and was legally permitted to supervise another learner. Despite her clear instructions, the driver tried to overtake in heavy rain, lost control and skidded into a steel gatepost.

This fatal crash led to the founding of 'Learn and Live' by Kate's parents and, in 1990, after Vicki had interviewed government ministers and "kicked up a bit of a stink, really", to legislation restricting supervising drivers to those over 21 and with at least three years' experience as a full licence holder.

3 people an hour are injured on UK roads

The Graduated Driving Licence?

Learn and Live have continued to campaign for safer roads. They now want to see the introduction of the Graduated Driving Licence (GDL) for newly-qualified drivers.

Vicki told Phil Upton: "All the countries that have introduced it have seen a massive drop in accidents and deaths of young drivers and their passengers - the main thing is, that it's a staged licence. You don't get your full licence straight away, with the threat that it may be taken away if you're caught doing something."

But changing the law is not easy, as Vicki says of the government;

"They say they're going to do something, but boy is it difficult to get them to grasp the nettle."

More information about the Learn and Live pressure group can be found at its website:
www.learnandlive.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Click the audio link below to listen to Vicki speaking on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ WM.