Redcar and Cleveland Council launched the scheme last week in response to increasing concerns over children driving electric-powered toy cars. The vehicles, which cost up to 500, can pose serious risks if children do not know how to control them properly.
Mike Hall, the council's road safety officer, said, 'We have had several complaints. The most serious came from a driver who had to swerve to avoid a little lad driving the car along a main road - and his parents were walking on the pavement alongside him.'
He added, 'This is a problem all over the UK. If children think it's a real car they will try to drive it on the road. We need to educate them. At the moment, we've only had near misses, but there are accidents waiting to happen.'
The Chaloner Hall Day Nursery in Guisborough was the first venue for the driving lesson. All 70 children were shown useful do's and don'ts about where and when to use the cars, with the help of Spike, the road safety mascot. They were then able to drive around a coned course on the nursery's field.
Nursery manager Sally Hazlewood, said the children's reaction was very positive. She added, 'The children thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and seemed to have learned a lot. Parents were much more aware of the dangers, too. We are hoping to organise more sessions to make this an ongoing thing.'
While the hour-long driving lessons are designed to be fun, they also carry a serious road safety message for parents as well as children.
Mr Hall said, 'Nine out of ten parents need to be more aware of the dangers.'
In the UK last year, 210 children were killed on the road. This innovative scheme aims to teach a 'full road safety package, not just driving'.
PC Paul McCabe, road safety liaison officer for Redcar and East Cleveland, said, 'The dangers arising from using these cars on busy roads speak for themselves. The best and safest places are secure play areas.'
