Kids take the wheel: Safer driving scheme for 9-17s launches its first Portsmouth venue

 

  • Driving school for 9-17s to launch at Portsmouth Cascades in August 2026
  • Groundbreaking driver training programme helps cut crash rates by over 80%

 

A driver training scheme, which starts teaching youngsters from as young as nine years old, is launching a new venue at Portsmouth’s Cascades Shopping Centre, giving local youngsters a head start on the road to safety.

 

Young Driver® aims to instil good driving habits long before teens get their provisional licence.

Youngsters aged 9 to 17 learn the basics of safe, responsible driving in dual-controlled Suzuki Swifts or similar cars, under the supervision of fully qualified instructors.

 

Shockingly, one in five newly qualified drivers crashes within six months of passing their driving test. But for Young Driver past pupils, the rate of accidents in that worrying first six months drops dramatically, to fewer than four per cent – a reduction of more than 80 per cent.

 

The scheme will use the top two floors of the car park at the Cascades Shopping Centre, allowing youngsters to work on a range of driving skills and manoeuvres. Lessons will start on Sunday 30th August, with events then taking place on selected weekend dates.

 

Young Driver is the UK’s largest provider of pre-17 driving lessons, having delivered more than 1.6 million lessons at 70 venues. A road system is created, with traffic signs, roundabouts and junctions, along with special areas to practice manoeuvres such as steering control and parking. The emphasis of the lessons is on safety and fun and encouraging youngsters to consider how to drive responsibly, giving them time to perfect driving skills such as gear changes, braking and steering without the pressures of public roads.

 

Ian Mulingani, managing director at Young Driver, said: “We are very excited to be launching at  Cascades in Portsmouth, our first venue in the city. With two floors of the multi-storey car park, we’ll be able to offer lots of different driving activities for young people, whether they’re a beginner or have already had a few lessons at another of our venues.

 

“Training drivers over a longer period of time allows youngsters to have a solid understanding of how to drive a car before they get anywhere near a real road. Research shows that creates a safer driver – and we believe it creates safer pedestrians and cyclists too. Pre-17 learners are 62% more likely to pass their test first time than the national average as well. But the lessons are also lots of fun and they’re a great general confidence boost for teens and pre-teens, who take the responsibility very seriously. When they’re reverse parking at the end of the first lesson, it’s often a shock for parents!”

 

Driving tuition is available for disabled youngsters, including automatic vehicles. Thirty or sixty-minute lessons must be booked in advance and prices start from £47.99.

 

For more information visit www.youngdriver.com or call 0333 577 9010.