YOUNG drivers in Glasgow who have just passed their test are to be given help to stay on the straight and narrow.

Road safety chiefs are launching a three-day initiative in a city shopping mall which will include simulating the effects and dangers of drunk driving.

The Ford Driving Skills for Life programme includes help in managing emergencies and routine vehicle maintenance as well as a series of things not to do while at the wheel including using mobile phones and even taking selfies.

Organised by road safety charity RoSPA and the AA and backed by the car-maker, the training programmes is specifically for drivers aged between 17 and 24.

The programme includes the Ford "drink driving suit" which includes vision distortion goggles that replicate the effects of driving while boozed up.

German founder Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel said: "People trying the suit for the first time soon find that they struggle with everyday tasks they would usually take for granted such as picking up a cup or dialling a phone number.

"It provides a powerful way of reinforcing the serious message of what could happen when driving under the influence of excessive alcohol."

And Barb Samardzich, chief operating officer at Ford of Europe, added: "Drinking and driving is a potentially lethal combination and this underlines the importance of making you drivers in particular aware of that message."

The initiative takes place over three days this week at Silverburn Shopping Centre beginning on Thursday.

The sessions are free and there are still vacancies. Sign up at https://forddsfl.co.uk.

The campaign is coming to Glasgow at a time when almost 90% of all newly qualified drivers in the UK have no idea of the drink-driving limit, while researchers have also found that a third of young motorists have used their mobile phone to take a "selfie" while at the wheel, and a quarter have gone on to social media sites.

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk