The article about the activities of the Under 17 Car Club displayed on the left, appeared in the May edition of the CSMA Motoring & Leisure magazine

It has been reproduced with the kind permission of its author Peter Cracknell, and the CSMA Motoring & Leisure magazine.

Click on the image or HERE to access the full article, which is provided in PDF file format for your convenience.

The Under 17 Car Club.

As its name suggests, is a Club where youngsters under the age of 17 can drive motor vehicles.

There are currently about 300 members and the Club is open to anyone - waiting list permitting - who is tall enough to drive and is between the ages of 12 years and 15 years during the year of joining.

This means youngsters can join when they are 11, provided their 12th birthday occurs during their first season but once they have had their 15th birthday they are too old.

It was started in 1976 by author Sandy Barrie who realised there was no opportunity for youngsters under seventeen to drive cars.

The Club is run entirely by volunteers with no full or part time paid staff.

Our aim is “to enable under age drivers to practice and improve their driving skills legally and safely, in a variety of different vehicles, under properly supervised conditions, and to take an active interest in cars and motor sport and ultimately to produce safer young drivers on our roads at age 17 and beyond”.

Please note the emphasis:- the Club is intended for young people who really care about cars and motor sport. They are the Members, not their parents who are Associate Members.

Once they have joined, Members can stay in the Club up to and including the season they reach their 17th birthday.

By the time a Club Member is coming up to 17, they will probably be driving better than many licence holders on the road.

Members are taught to drive by their parents in the parents’ cars with the help of the Club Instructors who try to do a progress check every 3 or 4 meetings.

There is a meeting on either the Saturday or the Sunday of most weekends between March and November at one venue and there are usually in excess of 30 all-day meetings per season. Venues vary from year to year but this season the Club will use six different sites, but only one on any given weekend. We are always on the lookout for additional venues, especially in the Midlands.

It is impractical to base your membership of the Club upon the idea of only ever visiting one particular venue as each different venue presents its own challenges and the Club encourages members to experience as wide a variety as possible.

The upper age limit of 15 years for joining is necessary for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the Club’s aim is as explained above and we are not equipped to cater for older teenagers who would just like to obtain some early practice just prior to their 17th birthday.

That requirement is catered for by a number of ADIs (Approved Driving Instructors) and Driving Schools. A search on Google using the words "under 17 driving" when last checked revealed at least three establishments who will provide off road opportunities for children who have passed our upper age limit.

Secondly, a youngster joining the Club aged around 14/15 can expect to take about two years to advance from Ungraded at entry to Grade 1 standard, assuming they attend a wide variety of venues on a regular basis. In that time, they should have become familiar with the Club’s ethos, especially on safety and responsibility, have become skilled and accomplished drivers and be equipped, when they reach 17, to face the hazards of driving on our roads.

Thirdly, participation in many special driving events, which are "occasionally" subsidised, is based upon skill and experience, not size or age. Therefore, youngsters usually need several years to attain a level at which, for example, they would be permitted to drive a single seater racing car or take a four-wheel drive vehicle off road. Joining after the age of fifteen would simply not provide them with enough time to be able to take advantage of the facilities the Club has to offer its Members.

Fourthly, because the Club is run entirely by unpaid, volunteer Associates, it needs a constant stream of “new blood” to take the Club forward. This tends to be from the Associates of Members who have reached Grades 1 or 2 and have a couple of years left in the Club i.e. are aged 14-15. If we admitted large numbers of 16 year olds, they would only be in the Club for one season and there would then be no-one to take over running the Club and in all likelihood it would rapidly cease to exist. This policy of restricting the starting age has been one of the reasons for the Club’s continuing success since 1976.

Each Full Member (i.e. under the age of 17) MUST have an Associate Member(s), (who is preferably, but not necessarily, a parent), responsible for him/her who will be present at each meeting.

An Associate Member must have held a Full Driving Licence for at least three years AND be over the age of 21.

Active participation is needed from all Associate Members to run the Club, and in particular, to ensure safety at meetings.

Members drive their parents’ own family car (4 seater), but, please note, no automatic cars, 2+2's, or vans are allowed.

The vehicle must also have a centrally located manual handbrake.

The Club uses a grading system to assess progress. New Members start as Ungraded and work up through Grades 5 to 1. Grade 5 is generally obtained quite early, often on the first visit, but subsequent grades are more difficult and have to be earned by hard work and practice.

Tests based upon the DSA Theory Test are conducted as part of the process of moving through the Grades and a First Aid qualification and skid pan instruction are required to reach Grade 1.

Upon reaching Grade 2, Members are permitted drive the car with their Associate(s) as back seat passengers and they also then get the opportunity to learn to handle a car safely at high speed.

When they achieve Grade 1, Members can finally drive without supervision and the first solo drive is always a big moment in the life of a Club Member.

However, there is one further grade that may be achieved and that is a special Grade X.

Comparatively few Members achieve this grade, (just over 50 in 29 years), because the standard is so high and many Members reach 17 before they have the opportunity to even attempt Grade X.

Further skid pan instruction, written tests on mechanical knowledge and the Highway Code are included along with a number of drives and skill tests in a variety of vehicles.

A 2-part advanced driving test is the final barrier to Grade X.  To mark success at this level the Member is presented with a cheque for £100 and their name is added to the Club's Grade X Shield.

There are also additional one-off events held throughout the year giving Members the opportunity to drive rally cars, go off-road in 4X4 vehicles, drive trucks and single seater racing cars as well as "occasional" Factory Visits. These events usually attract additional cost. In 1996 Club Members were driven around the MIRA proving circuit in a McLaren F1, and in 1997, in an Aston Martin Vantage. In 2002 a group of Club Members were invited to test out Ford's new Rallye Sport Trainer vehicle the day following its official press launch.

The Club has also been presented with the Prince Michael of Kent Road Safety Award.
Subscriptions - The Club is a non-profit making organisation but needs funds to meet expenses, principally for the hire of venues.

The fees for the 2008 season have been set at £160 for one child or £240 for two or more. There is an additional one time only joining fee per family of £50.

ALL VENUES ARE FREE OF CHARGE TO MEMBERS.
What about insurance? - THIS IS AN OWN RISK CLUB.

We all bring our own cars and families entirely at our own risk.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Stone by e-mail at: -

u17@wntf.co.uk

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