Sky News Investigation Uncovers Substantial Changes to DSA Road Safety Programmes

The Government's Driving Standards Agency has made substantial changes to the claims it makes for of one of its major road safety programmes, a Sky News investigation reveals.

Last year alone 74,000 newly-qualified drivers spent up to £180 each on the Pass Plus driving course. It was launched in 1995 to counter high accident rates among young drivers, and involves six hours of driving lessons at night, on motorways and in bad weather.

Research conducted by Sky News shows the Pass Plus driving course, promoted to all newly-qualified drivers, has received public subsidies of more than £1.75m in the last four years and has cost young drivers around £30m.

But the DSA has quietly dropped claims that the course can reduce accident rates and give 'peace of mind' to relatives after being warned there was no evidence to back them up.

The websites of at least six local authorities and the Welsh Assembly still encourage youngsters to take subsidised Pass Plus courses by telling them that it can reduce their chance of accident or injury - a claim no longer relied upon by the DSA.

When asked to comment on the apparent confusion caused by the way it handled its changes to the scheme's claimed benefits, a spokeswoman for the DSA said it was not responsible for alerting local authorities about its ‘updated’ message.

“We have no way to tell them directly if information is changed or updated. It is the website owner's responsibility to ensure the information they publish is accurate and up to date.”

Sky News has discovered that Government officials were repeatedly warned from 2006 that there is no evidence that Pass Plus cuts the numbers of youngsters being killed or injured.

The apparent fallings of the scheme are recognised by the insurance industry which used to give substantial discounts to youngsters who took Pass Plus.

Admiral Insurance, one of the companies that has abandoned it, analysed more than 4,000 claims involving young drivers over the past two years for Sky News. Spokesman Justin Beddows said: “We could find no evidence that Pass Plus makes a young motorist any safer and less likely to have an accident in the future.”

The DSA was told in 2006 and 2008 there was no proof Pass Plus made any difference to accident rates. The Agency responded by removing claims about improving safety from its website, but continued to push the scheme.

Sky News has obtained a copy of the DSA’s Pass Plus website from 2008, which stated that the course will help “reduce your risk of being in a road crash [and] give peace of mind to your loved ones.”

Those claims were removed after the publication of three separate reports in 2006 and 2008 stating that no evidence could be found to back them up.

Kent, Herefordshire and Cornwall county councils, South Lanarkshire Council, Aberdeen City Council, and Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership tell youngsters they can reduce their chance of having a crash if they pay for the course.

The Welsh Assembly has spent at least a million pounds subsidising Pass Plus since 2006, telling youngsters on its website they will have “less chance of a collision, or injuring yourself, friends and others.”

The Welsh course includes an extra three hour classroom lesson, but officials told Sky News they have no evidence that it makes any difference to accident rates.

In a statement to Sky News the DSA said: “Post test training builds upon existing skills and knowledge and gives new drivers additional experience to help them drive more safely in a variety of driving conditions.”

New drivers who have taken Pass Plus tell us that it improves their driving skills and confidence on the road and major insurance companies offer discounts to drivers who have taken Pass Plus precisely because they believe that the scheme improves drivers' ability."