A TALENTED teenager from Bromsgrove District, has made it through to the final of a national pre-17 driving competition at the age of 14.
Sophie Sprigg, from Hollywood, entered the Young Driver Challenge 2017 at Stoneleigh Park where a highly qualified driving instructor accessed her skills behind the wheel.
Sophie, who attends Woodrush High School, beat hundreds of entrants and is one of only 40 finalists who will travel to the NEC in Birmingham next Saturday to battle it out to become Britain’s best young driver.
All of the competitors are under the legal driving age of 17 and the finalists will compete in two age categories – ten to 13 and 14 to 16 as they are acored by the judges on a variety of driving skills.
Among the attributes being tested will be positioning, judgement, steering and independent driving.
They will also be scrutinised on manoeuvres, such as parallel parking, emergency stops and reversing into a parking bay.
Finalists will be in the running for a number of prizes, including pre and post-17 driving lessons.
The competition encourages youngsters to value safe and responsible driving.
Young Driver, which runs the challenge, offers driving lessons to those aged ten to 17 with the aim of reducing the high accident rate for newly qualified drivers. Statistics show almost 1,300 17 to 24-year-olds are killed or seriously injured in road accidents each year and one in five has an accident within just six months of passing their test.
That figure falls to one in ten for those who have had lessons with Young Driver.
Tuition is provided at more than 50 venues across the country, taking place in brand new, dual control Vauxhall Corsas.
Sophie received Young Driver lessons as a Christmas present when she was 13 and started her lessons at the NEC, progressing to Stoneleigh on her instructor’s advice.
She said she was excited to be in the final.
“By having these lessons I feel I am gaining confidence and experience before I take to the road.
“The instructor makes it a fun experience and gives me advice at the end of each lesson on how I can improve for next time.
“I always come away feeling confident and that I have achieved something to proud of.
“My favourite thing to do there is parallel parking.”
Laura White, head of marketing at Young Driver, congratulates Sophie and said she was looking forward to see her at the final, which was the highlight of the organisation’s calendar.
“The skills these youngsters show behind the wheel is extraordinary.
“They really would put some of the drivers out there on the roads to shame.”
For more information about Young Driver visit www.youngdriver.com or call 0844 371 9010.
