IT’S hard to imagine that tasks as mundane as cleaning a dirty window or filling your car with screen wash could ultimately save your life, but dozens of factors contribute towards the plethora of death on our roads.

FINALISTS Anne Marshall and Ailidh Nealgrove may have mixed feelings about still being in the running for a new Seat Ibiza, having knocked out their older siblings to win places in the final 12.

IT HAS been a long wait, but here are the remaining six finalists still in with a chance of being crowned the Press and Journal’s Young Driver of the Year and driving away in a new Seat Ibiza Sport.

WHETHER you agree with a speed limit or not, it is your duty as a driver to comply with it.

ESTABLISHING cause has become an increasingly important part of what the police do at serious collision scenes in recent decades.

SEVEN weeks ago, the Press and Journal launched a major three-month road safety campaign aimed at raising driving standards and cutting the shocking toll of death on our roads.

GREATER concentration is needed when overtaking because hazards can easily be missed due to the increase in speed.

JUST after he passed his driving test, Ben Laing had a slight bump on the notorious A9 Perth-Inverness road.

NOT many young drivers, excluding the very rich and famous, get the chance to drive £400,000 supercars.

FAST cars are as deeply rooted in the footballer’s image as Wags, suntans and diamonds, but Ross County Football Club is taking steps to turn its young players into safe and sensible drivers.

TIREDNESS affects everyone, but the effects can be disastrous if you’re driving. The number of collisions where tiredness is a factor could be greatly reduced if drivers stopped for breaks.

IT WOULD be a great world if traffic “incidents” did not happen but the truth is that they happen all too often, so what should you do when you arrive at the scene of an accident?

LOSING a parent at any age is a harsh blow but having a loved one taken from you when you are almost too young to remember seems particularly cruel.

THE scene of every serious road traffic collision is horrific but however bad, it is just the beginning of a lifetime of pain and regret for those left behind.

JOHN Gravil has no memory of the crash. One minute he was driving along a country road, the next he was in a hospital bed being told doctors could do nothing to save his right arm.

A BIT of sibling rivalry is nothing new to Anne Marshall, 19, and her big brother Brian, 21, although they usually fight it out on the golf course rather than in the driver’s seat.

AS A driver, knowing road signs is important because it allows you to understand and interpret the information being displayed in time for you to take action.

IT IS the news young drivers from across Scotland have been waiting for.

AS A racing driver, 23-year-old Jordan Gronkowski knows a thing or two about driving fast. He also has a pretty good idea of how dangerous it can be if things go wrong. That is why the Banff-born engineer, who now lives and works in Glasgow, is supporting the Press and Journal’s Young Driver of the Year competition, which aims to save lives by improving driving standards.

YOU have successfully passed your driving test, got a new set of wheels and are looking forward to a life on the open road. Your friends are equally excited at the prospect of being chauffeured around the countryside. Life is great, and so it should be – freedom, mobility and independence.

YOU could be forgiven for expecting the youngest chairman of an advanced driving group to be mad about cars and driving. But Janette Mackay was the opposite.

UNLESS you are in a high-risk occupation, driving your car is probably the most dangerous thing you will do today, or any other day. That is why Sergeant Neil Morrison, of Grampian Police’s road safety unit, believes every motorist should think of their driving as a skill which can be improved upon every time they step behind the wheel.

BEN Devlin has been fanatical about anything with four wheels ever since he can remember. But the 23-year-old tasked with casting off the IAM’s stuffy image and bringing a new generation of young drivers into the fold, admits he is lucky to have survived some of his early jaunts behind the wheel.

AS IS often the rule in driving, the phrase, “it depends on the circumstances”, applies to bad weather driving, and motorists should take all factors into account.

MORE than 100 people have applied to become the Press and Journal’s Young Driver of the Year in the hope of driving away in a new Seat Ibiza Sport.

DRIVERS who take action to improve their skills behind the wheel are central to cutting the toll of tragedy that continues to blight lives across Scotland every week. That is the stark message from Alastair Fraser, training manager at Knockhill’s Centre for Driver Excellence.

IT IS more than a decade since her friend’s tragic death, but the memories still come flooding back each and every time Constable Doherty is called to a collision scene.

THERE is no denying that rural roads give motorists an opportunity to enjoy their driving to the full. However, greater speeds require greater skills, especially among young drivers who are in a high-risk category.

THE top prize awaiting the Young Driver of the Year is a stunning new Seat Ibiza Sport in eye-catching Emocion red.

THE Young Driver of the Year competition is open to those who have not reached their 25th birthday by June 7, 2008.

Employees of Aberdeen Journals Ltd, Specialist Cars, Grampian Police, Knockhill and IAM (full-time employees only) and their immediate families are not eligible to enter.

TOO many families are facing the heartache of seeing a loved one killed or seriously injured on our roads, according to Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.

THANKFULLY, not many of us can claim to have first stepped behind the steering wheel at the tender age of two, but that’s all the time it took Scott Fraser to work out that cars and driving were for him. A very early memory of sneaking into his auntie’s car and firing up the engine before being spotted and quickly removed is his first of being hooked on cars.

WHAT is a good driver? A good driver should be able to drive safely, in keeping with the road, weather and traffic conditions, and to follow the rules of the road.

Employees of Aberdeen Journals Ltd, Specialist Cars, Grampian Police, Knockhill and IAM (full-time employees only) and their immediate families are not eligible to enter. The prizes are as stated and there is no cash or prize alternatives. Entrants must be willing to participate in publicity in the paper. The editor’s decision is final. Travel to Knockhill and Taste of Grampian is not included. Competition open to those who have not reached their 25th birthday by June 7, 2008. You must hold a full UK driving licence, must not have more than three penalty points on that licence and must never have been disqualified from driving for any reason. You must be available to attend the finals day at the Knockhill Centre for Driver Excellence, based at Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife, on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, if selected as one of the 12 finalists. If you are one of the top four young drivers, you must be able to attend the Taste of Grampian event in Inverurie on Saturday, June 7, for the final awards announcement, when the overall winner will collect the keys to the stunning new Seat Ibiza Sport.

THE Press and Journal has launched a major road-safety campaign to help tackle the terrible toll of death and serious injury among young drivers on the roads of north and north-east Scotland.

THERE are still far too many people dying on Scotland’s roads. That’s the message sent out earlier this week by Scotland’s transport minister, Stewart Stevenson, when he opened a road safety conference in Glasgow.