Young people across York will see the effects of dangerous and inappropriate driving first hand when a SCARD (Support and Care After Road Death and Injury) workshop tours local secondary schools.

Funded by City of York Council, the powerful workshop begins with an introduction and warning about the emotional nature of its content. It then features a South Yorkshire Police video entitled 'Stolen Cars, Stolen Lives', and time for pupils to make observations and comments on what they have seen.

It goes on to highlight the personal story of a real victim battling with the effects that road or car crime and death or injury can have on an individual, their family and the wider community. The workshop then concludes with a feedback session, which will provide pupils with an opportunity to consider sentencing policies and the unacceptability of road crime in general.

Tom Foxton, the council's road safety project officer, explained: "Last year half of those killed or seriously injured on York's roads were under the age of 25. Many of these casualties could be prevented.

"One of the most effective ways that we have found of educating people about the dangers of the road is through the real-life stories of people who have lost a loved-one on the roads.

"Bombarding young people with leaflets and posters is not the answer. This workshop gets them to think about the dangers of the road and, at the same time, see the consequences of ignoring those dangers."