Press Centre

Saturday June 13th 2009 - Today British Formula One star, Lewis Hamilton, opened the first Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy at Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge Surrey. At the event Lewis also took part in a precision driving performance with local teenagers and then spent some time mingling with fans and taking a few lucky teenagers onto the track to teach them some basic driving skills from the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy curriculum.

The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy is set to revolutionise the way British teenagers learn to drive with young people now able to learn to drive from 12 years old_¹ on the handling circuits at Mercedes-Benz World. With young drivers amongst the most vulnerable on the roads (nearly 1 in 3 car drivers who die or are seriously injured are under the age of 25_²), the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy promises to coach its students to become good drivers, not to just pass the test. The positive impacts of learning to drive at a younger age have also been demonstrated in Sweden where the introduction of the Swedish Young Drivers initiative reduced  accident rates by 40 per cent in the first year amongst drivers who started behind the wheel 18 months earlier - at 16yrs_³.

Mercedes-Benz has been working with leading driving expert Dr Mika Hatakka_⁴ to develop the new curriculum based programme which is built on recommendations from a series of EU road safety research projects. The projects highlight the benefits of learning to drive younger and earlier, as well as best practice tuition techniques. The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy offers three main modules: Pre-road module (age 12 – 17yrs), Provisional Licence module (age 17+yrs) and Post-test module (for those who have already passed
their test).

Commenting from the launch today, Lewis Hamilton said: “It’s great that the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy is giving young people the opportunity to start learning to drive from as young as 12. By having the chance to master basic driving skills in the safe and controlled environment of the handling circuits at the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy, young people can gain confidence and focus on controlling the car before they have to deal with traffic situations out on the public roads.”

Wilfried Steffen, CEO at Mercedes-Benz UK: “We’re delighted to have opened the first Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy to the public with the support of Lewis and Anthony Hamilton. The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy aims to provide young people with the skills and thought based experiences that go beyond the requirements of just passing the driving test. It will prepare them for the actual demands of driving on the public roads, making them better and safer drivers when they have their licence.”

_¹ Minimum height requirement 1.5 metres
_² Road Casualties Great Britain 2007, Department for Transport, 2007 (table 7c)
_³ Source: Accident Analysis and Prevention 32 (2000) 25–35
_⁴ Internationally acknowledged driving expert from Turku, Finland

More detail on the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy:

Mercedes-Benz has been working with Dr Mika Hatakka (Turku, Finland), an internationally acknowledged expert of driver education, to develop an innovative curriculum-based programme. The structure of this programme takes into account recommendations from a series of EU road safety research projects that look at the benefits of learning to drive younger and earlier, as well as best practice tuition techniques.

With over 190 different skills, the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy takes a holistic approach to learning to drive. Passing the driving test focuses on two key areas - basic vehicle control and mastering traffic situations. The new research-based Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy curriculum goes far beyond car control with two completely new ‘psychological’ modules covering journey planning, dealing with peer pressure in the car, personal motivations, time pressures, health and wellbeing and social influences - all of which are adapted according to relevance, age, module and ability. Example tasks also include practical lessons in car  maintenance, first aid and the best ecological and economical ways to drive.

As well as coaching students to master driving skills, the Driving Academy will also teach risk assessment and prevention via practical experiences and role playing exercises. These exercises will include training on how to avoid losing control of a car, the importance of eliminating distractions and what to do with a car full of noisy friends or loud music. Using a variety of techniques from practical tuition on the handling circuits and on the public roads as well as classroom seminars and peer group discussion sessions, students will be tasked with actively thinking about driving as well as learning to drive. Selfevaluation and effective use of feedback are given extra emphasis in the programme via in-car cameras and post-session interactive discussions. In  addition, a web-based skills tracker will allow both students and parents to monitor progress throughout the different levels of the Driving Academy curriculum, and to see exactly what has been achieved in each lesson.

The Academy’s holistic approach also offers ‘Parent-Partner-Sessions’ where parents are given practical advice (on the handling circuits) on how to become the best possible in-car advisors when they are with their children outside of the Academy.

The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy also recognises the importance of supporting young drivers after they have passed their test as their driving experience in traffic develops. The Post-Test Module offers students a series of refresher courses which go beyond ‘Pass Plus’. It includes practical simulations of emergency situations as well as discussion seminars to review and selfevaluate driving experiences in traffic.