AN award-winning road safety scheme for young drivers got into gear yesterday.

For the next eight days, nearly 500 future motorists from County Durham and Darlington will visit Durham Police headquarters to take part in the Wise Drive - Drive For Life programme.

For the first time in the seven years of the scheme, organisers are putting students, who are all aged 16, through a presentation concentrating on the perils of driving while under the influence of drugs or drink.

They will take a mock breath test, wear goggles which distort the vision and undergo standard field impairment tests used by police dealing with those thought to be affected by drugs.

These include asking the students to walk in a straight line, stand on one leg and estimate when 30 seconds have passed.

Their reflexes will be tested by a brake reaction simulator and strapped into a seat-belt sled which crashes at five miles an hour.

The young would-be drivers will also attend workshops with mechanics and experts in buying and selling cars.

Finally, they will be shown graphic footage of the aftermath of genuine road accidents - including a crash which claimed the lives of two friends on the outskirts of Durham last year.

Kane Banner and Ryan Fairley, both 17, were killed on the A167 near the Cock o' the North roundabout on October 31 last year.

Their families have given police permission to use photographs of the crash scene in the hope it will prevent future tragedies.