A powerful, thought provoking initiative designed to target young drivers and passengers in Cornwall, held a two day event in Falmouth to spell out the devastation that an accident causes not just to those directly involved, but also to family, friends and the members of the emergency services who attend.

Organised by Cornwall Council Prevention, Protection and Road Safety in partnership with Devon County Council, Learn2Live was presented to over 1,100 students from various schools and colleges who attended the four events.

The Learn2Live programme is based on a short DVD showing a group of friends being involved in a collision and the emergency services arriving. As each agency arrives at the scene, the DVD is paused and a member of that particular emergency service gives their chilling account of attending the scene of a road traffic collision.

This is followed by a family member who has lost a loved one in a road traffic collision giving their account of the circumstances of their loss and the devastating affect that this has had on their life.

The programme concludes with a young man called Pete telling his story about how he was involved in a collision, the impact of which will stay with him for the rest of his life.

Tom Rehaag, Cornwall Council fire and road safety advisor, said: “Through Learn 2 Live, young drivers and passengers will witness how a collision occurs, the devastation that follows, and how the lives of all the professionals, and in particular family members, are affected. We hope that through this high impact programme young drivers will think about the facts, consequences, and what they can do in order to avoid being involved in a road traffic collision.”

The event was supported by Cornwall Advanced Motorists (CAM) who attended with a view to encouraging young drivers to take post-test training to increase their safety.

Rob Robinson, vice-chairman of CAM, said: “We want young drivers to enjoy their driving. The RoSPA Advanced Driving course and test is all about ‘safety through skill.’ It’s never boring. It's all practical. Young drivers are capable of driving to the highest standards and we would like to help them do that. We have also found that the course helps parents restore their own confidence and knowledge of current driving techniques which may prove useful whilst they are helping their son or daughter learn to drive. Call our CAM Secretary on 07519 344425 if you would like more information.”