A WENVOE mum who lost her 16-year-old son in a car crash has encouraged young drivers to sign up for a road safety campaign.

Angela Smith, of Old Port Road, is a parent ambassador for Ford’s ‘Driving Skills for Life’ programme that aims to reduce the amount of young drivers involved in road accidents. In 2005 her son Kyle died after being involved in a car crash on the M4 corridor near Culverhouse Cross when he was sitting in the back of a car without a seat or seatbelt.

“I first got involved in road safety campaigns as a result of Kyle’s death in a road accident,” said Angela. “We have got a life sentence without Kyle and me and my family have thought about what we could do to make a difference.

“We can’t have him back, but we can campaign for change to help young people with a lack of driving experience.”

The free ‘Driving Skills for Life’ education initiative aims to provide teenagers and parents with steps on how to be a safe driver. A recent survey commissioned by Ford found that 31% of parents are most concerned about their children being involved in a driving accident when approaching their late teens.

Angela, who has also backed previous safety campaign such as the ‘Deadly Mates’ initiative, that aimed to tackle the high number of young people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions on Welsh roads, said that the ‘Driving Skills for Life’ campaign was “spot on”.

“This is a free scheme and will give youngsters some of those key skills that you don’t necessarily learn when you drive,” she said. “I’m all for education and what Ford are introducing is absolutely fantastic.

“All these things could save kids lives. You are taught how to pass a driving test, but you don’t learn how to drive. Just because you pass a test it doesn’t mean you know how to drive.

“I have been on some of these programmes myself and it's disturbing to see how differently you perform under the influence of alcohol and other substances.”

For more information about Ford's 'Driving Skills for Life' and to register interest, visit www.FordDSFL.co.uk