Black box scheme made permanent

New driver Steph Harris, 18, said the scheme had improved her driving

A black box pilot scheme which saw young drivers being tracked by their parents has been made permanent.

Forty young motorists in Staffordshire tried out the scheme, where matchbox sized devices with electronic sensors inside were fitted to their dashboards.

The journey results were then sent back to a website so parents could check how careful their children had been.

One insurance company is offering 25% discounts to young drivers who sign up to the award-winning project.

Admiral Insurance has said it will offer the discounts to any drivers who get the black box.

Red flags

Last week, Staffordshire County Council and project developers GreenRoad Technologies, were awarded a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for their efforts.

The device works by its sensors picking up how fast the car is accelerating, braking and measuring the G-force as it goes around corners.

Red, amber and green flags are flashed up to the driver - with the more red flags appearing, the more drivers should take care.

It was introduced in Staffordshire where figures showed drivers aged under 25 were involved in 40% of accidents, but made up just 10% of motorists.