THE speed and ease with which a teenager can get their hands on a full driving licence makes it no wonder so many youngsters are killed on Britain's roads.

Crash courses, no pun intended, can be completed within as few as four days with no further tuition required before a 17-year-old is let loose on motorways, winding country lanes and the innocent and unsuspecting motoring public.

A driving test is carried out in just 40 minutes, has no requirement for driving in the dark or the rain and a massive 15 driving faults are allowed before failure becomes inevitable.

As long as you can see where you're going and answer a couple of safety questions, that's the practical done and dusted.

The theory test isn't the most challenging exam a teenager will ever take either.

A total of 43 out of 50 correct multiple choice answers and just 44 out of 75 marks in a hazard perception test will see you through and that's it - you're off - live and dangerous on the road.

So what's being done to make sure these newly qualified drivers don't wipe out an oncoming family on their way home from the test centre?

In Dorset, road safety departments in all the local authorities are doing their best to tackle the issue but face a constant battle for funding.

Each year their budgets leave them with agonising decisions - should they target teenage drivers, younger pedestrians, elderly drivers or any other groups with a road safety need?

This year Bournemouth council is throwing most of its weight behind young drivers in view of some worrying statistics in the borough.

Accident rates for 17-24-year-olds, particularly between 11pm and 2am, are rising and road safety project officer Claire Elkins said she and her colleagues are doing everything they can to reverse the trend.

"We have a specific problem in Bournemouth with this age group so we are trying anything we can to reduce the accidents," she said.

Projects include First Car Magazine, a publication given free of charge to sixth formers in Bournemouth schools.

And Valentine's Day 2008 will see the launch of the For My Girlfriend campaign, getting the message to young male drivers that they could kill their girlfriends if they do not take care.

"There is a trend that passengers are dying in cars driven by young males," said Claire. "This is telling them that it could be their girlfriend that dies."

The Impact Roadshow is targetted at specific areas of Bournemouth where car crime is a problem. Its aim is to stop young people stealing cars and driving them without possessing any of the necessary skills. Pills, Thrills @nd Automobiles is a hard-hitting theatre production touring Bournemouth and Poole schools.

It tells the true story of a group of four young people, two of whom die when their car crashes on the way home from a drug-fuelled weekend away.

"The production is very effective - two people were in tears during a recent performance in a Bournemouth school," said Claire.