A teenager from Saint-Boniface had an idea to encourage motorists to be courteous towards newbies on the road: after the “baby on board” posters, place “New to the wheel”, a magnet or sticker which indicates that the person behind the wheel starts driving.
Drivers aged between 16 and 24 represent around 10% of license holders, but they are involved in a quarter of all road accidents. The objective of these magnets and stickers is to encourage other motorists to be more courteous, which will reduce the pressure on young people, and therefore the risk of collision.
“We feel less oppressed, the cars don’t stick to us as much and I’ve never been honked at since I’ve had it and I admit, I might have deserved it once or twice,” said Léa Rivard, the instigator of the idea.
“It takes the pressure off the young drivers, off the person who is alongside them and it brings an understanding of other drivers around,” added his mother, Annie Gervais.
Seeing the results of these posters, the two women decided to share their discovery by marketing their products. “I had no problem having vision. My mother is very enterprising, a week later she came back to me and said, let’s do this,” Léa explained.
The products are already sold in large numbers in Vision driving schools in Mauricie,
as well as on the web. “I told her that there were words she was not allowed to use, including “Student while driving”. That’s what “New to Driving” is for. I authorized him to sell his products in the branches, I do not make a profit with that,” expressed Stephan Viau, the owner of the school.
However, the magnet does not solve all the problems. Parents must also be made aware, since the pressure often comes from their comments. “Sometimes, parents encourage people to commit an offense like, “but now you have to follow the traffic” or stops that are too short. The parents are used to it, but there is also pressure when they are with their young one and they have difficulty coping,” said Mr. Viau.
These posters will also serve as a reminder to experienced drivers to be vigilant, as one in eight motorists believe they are often, or even very often, distracted while driving. “For parents who lend their car to their child, it can avoid a breakage or a collision,” said Léa Rivard.
No fewer than eight out of 10 Quebecers believe that a lack of courtesy is a problem; it remains to be seen whether this initiative will help change things.