A school in Cumbria were visited by the local fire and rescue service earlier this week to undertake some unusual driver safety training.
Cumbria Fire and Rescue visited Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale to give their Sixth Formers aged between 16 and 18 the chance to become the first in the county to benefit from a virtual reality (VR) driving safety session.
Dean Readman, watch manager for prevention, and firefighters from white watch at Kendal Fire Station delivered the road awareness training this week.
As part of the session, young motorists were able to enhance their learning by using the station's newly-purchased VR headsets to immerse themselves fully in a realistic driving situation.
The seven-minute VR scenario depicts a collision between a car and a tractor, from the point-of-view of the driver, and allows the learner to experience the graphic sights and sounds of a real-life road traffic collision.
The VR headsets have been funded from the £110,000 total secured from the Home Office by Peter McCall, Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, in the latest round of Safer Street grants.
The VR headsets will be used by crews across the county to support their ongoing work with young motorists.
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