Have you heard about the Drive for Life Programme? Maybe you saw a segment on the Seoige & O’Shea Programme in November or read about us in the local and national newspapers.

We are receiving a terrific response from those that have seen our programme or heard about it in the past four years. In brief, the Drive for Life Programme is a road safety awareness programme that aims to change the mindset of young people BEFORE they get out on the road. We do not give bring students out into private car parks and give them driving lessons, show how an engine works or bring a simulator to your school as we feel this is putting the cart before the horse. What we will do is teach ‘cause and effect’ and we show the awful consequences of human error and stupidity on the roads, i.e. if you drive like an idiot you will die! Parts of our programme are quite graphic, but we do not apologise for this as the ‘scary’ bits are the bits that teenagers remember. It empowers them to say “I’m not getting into the car with so-and-so”, which may save their lives.

Ours is a whole day programme (for an optimal class of 30-35) , in the mornings we show what happens when things go wrong and in the afternoon we show how to do it right i.e. how to pick a driving instructor who is actually qualified. NOTE: at the current time ANYONE can put a sign above their car and call themselves a driving instructor and it is not mandatory to be qualified at all! We also do a mock theory test so students will know the format and what to expect when they go on to do the real thing. We also bring handouts and all the forms necessary for driving including theory test application, provisional etc., for all participants and a folder for the coordinator that includes follow-on quiz, evaluation form, certificate, etc.

As mentioned we are ‘on the road’ (excuse the pun) for over four years now and have given this programme to over 40,000 students in schools/ Youth Reach centres/ Traveller training centres/ Young Offenders Groups/ Garda diversion projects and youth clubs and groups throughout the 26 counties. We are a private company who have put this programme together ourselves due to ongoing frustration at the high numbers of road deaths, particularly of teenagers, (being parents of four) and the low level of information available to students.

Many of the Road Safety Officers in around the country (i.e. Cork, Kerry, Louth, South Tipp, Offaly, South Dublin, Cavan, Galway etc) are now subsidizing schools within the county to have the programme.

We are also delighted to announce that from this coming school year anyone who attends the Drive for Life Programme (or has seen the presentation in the past and has a certificate of attendance) and goes on to take a series of driving lessons from a recognized driving instructor – we will have a list of these at a later date – will receive the equivalent of their first years ‘no claims’ bonus immediately – giving a substantial reduction on their first insurance, which will be of huge benefit to them.

If you would like to book this programme for your school or would like any further details please contact me at your earliest.

Thank you,

Lesley McNeely
Bayside Services
Dooagh, Achill, Co. Mayo
Tel: 098-43766