gtiA classic Peugeot 205 GTI that has been restored by young volunteers will soon make its debut as a training resource used by the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) to target adolescent drivers.

The car was donated to the partnership last year – dented and damaged but with a built-in roll-cage. In partnership with several local businesses and with the elbow grease of five willing volunteers aged 13 to 16, the car has been restored and is now being freshly painted, ready for use.

Good road safety practice
Throughout the project, the five keen volunteers learned about general car mechanics, bodywork repair, painting and spraying, car modifications, engine tuning, vehicle dynamics and graphic design.

LFRS Road Safety Manager Steve Screaton said: “Even though it is good road safety practice to discourage inexperienced drivers from driving at a young age, the pre-drivers’ course will teach those with a genuine need to drive about vehicle dynamics and skills.

“For young people who are insistent on learning to drive, or with a genuine requirement to own a car, our aim is to make them as safe as possible. We want to give them the background skills to best prepare them for their first driving lesson so they have a greater appreciation of the machinery they’re about to take onto the public highway.”

2fast2soon driver training
The Peugeot will be based at the LRSP’s 2fast2soon driver training centre at RAF Scampton and will make an appearance at the Lincolnshire Show in Junea new pre-drivers’ course being launched by the partnership.
This course will serve as a stepping stone before a young driver’s initial driving lesson and will help reduce the risk to newly-qualified drivers aged 17 to 19 – a high-risk group of whom half will crash their cars within a year of passing their driving tests.