Ford launches young driver program

Young drivers are seven times more likely to be killed or injured when driving at night than fully-licenced drivers – and Ford wants to change that.

The blue oval brand is putting its money where its mouth is and funding a night-time driver training initiative, as part of its Ford Driving Skills for Life program. The car company has partnered with Driving Solutions, a leading driver training and track day organisation, to run the skills program in the dark.

The program will be offered in both metropolitan and regional areas in News South Wales, Victoria and Queensland through the rest of 2023. It will be open to any driver aged between 16 and 24 years old who holds a valid licence, with Ford paying for the program so there’s no cost to the participants.

“What I see is kids who often have had very minimal night driving experience, and when you have difficult conditions – in the dark, when it’s raining, perhaps with friends in the car – and you combine that with less experience… it can make for a very dangerous situation,” said

James Stewart, Director at Driving Solutions. “That’s what we want to tackle with Driving Skills For Life this year.”

Ford was inspired to do something about teaching younger drivers safer driving practices at night when research from the Victorian Government and the Transport Accident Commision discovered P-plate drivers are seven times more likely to be killed or injured than a fully-licenced driver when driving in the dark.

“There’s nothing more important on the road than safety and that’s why we found the statistics around how many more young people suffer injuries and fatalities at night so concerning,” said Andrew Birkic, Ford Australia CEO. “We’re hoping that by teaching young drivers practical night driving skills, we might help keep them just that bit safer on the road.”

The program officially gets underway at Melbourne International Raceway on July 21, then has dates scheduled at Sydney Motorsport Park August 18 and in Lithgow, NSW on August 19, with more dates and Queensland locations to follow soon.