"Prevencao Rodoviaria Portuguesa" (PRP) is a 33-year old Portuguese non-profit association. Its goal is the prevention of road accidents and the reduction of related consequences. In February 1999 a new educational program was launched aimed at teaching 14 and 15 year olds how to safely drive mopeds. On completion of the course, the trainees receive a special permit. A law introduced in July 1998 covers this initiative and PRP is the only institution allowed to conduct this training. After roughly ten months of fieldwork (from March to December), 1300 youngsters were trained and issued permits. More than 800 are waiting for their turn. In the year 2000, 3000 youngsters are expected to be trained. The process of selecting and training trainers and the programs and methods used are briefly described.
Abstract