A YOUNG driver who was shocked by the deaths of two classmates in a car accident is at the forefront of a drive to encourage more young people to take advanced driving lessons.

Chris McGhee, 18, from Bolton, is one of a small number of young drivers who are signing up for lessons after they pass their initial driving test.

He says he was prompted to take the classes because of the shock of losing two friends from independent Bolton School in a car accident last year.

Daniel Harrison and Jonathan Sharples - both 17 - died after the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree.

Passenger Daniel was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident and  Jonathan, who was driving, died at the Royal Bolton Hospital five hours later.

Chris - who passed his initial driving test in just four weeks - said the news of the sudden deaths shocked the whole school and had prompted him to take the course in Bolton through the Institute of Advanced Motoring. 

He said the vast majority of new drivers would benefit from the opportunity to develop their skills, with an advanced driving course.

"I was the only one of my college friends that did this," said Chris, who is about to start a computer science degree at the University of Manchester University.

"I think there is this feeling that doing the course is an admission that you are a bad driver - but you are not. Doing a course can only ever help you.

"I have always been a confident driver anyway and I have always found it natural to drive. It only took me about nine lessons to pass my test. I enjoy driving any way, and so this was a good excuse to drive more.

"As part of the course you are in the car with an observer. And they tell the driver what that they are doing wrong and what they need to work on. They look at how far ahead you are looking on the road and how well you anticipate what is going to happen."

According to Young Marmalade - which specialises in providing cars and insurance for young people - 23 people under the age of 25 are killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents in the UK every day.

They have found that teenagers who take an advanced driving programme are three times less likely to have an accident then their less-skilled friends.

But they say just one in 10 young drivers take on further tuition after passing their tests.

"This is a big concern," says Crispin Moger, of Young Marmalade.

"The general feeling is young drivers don't want to look 'sad' in front of their mates. Feedback has been they think taking advanced lessons is like an admission of poor driving. This was especially evident in male drivers.

"Young Marmalade already visits a number of schools and colleges to discuss safe driving with students.

"Our research indicates that further driving tuition can improve road safety," said Mr Moger.

"If you couple that with having a top-quality vehicle - which young drivers are more likely to take care of - than accident rates could be slashed even further."

Young Marmalade aims to make safe, modern vehicles accessible to young motorists by selling cars that are less than 12 months old and below 10,000 in mileage, in conjunction with an affordable comprehensive insurance scheme.